Oh no. They're writing about Epstein in Scientific Journals! [View all]

[NNadir]

(Trust me, I can argue this post is appropriate for the Lounge.)

I came across this paper this morning:

From Paradox to Practice: A Review on Production Strategies, Stability Mechanisms, and Theoretical Insights of Bulk Nanobubbles Ananda J. Jadhav and Aniruddha Bhalchandra Pandit Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2026 65 (13), 6725-6763

From the text:

...One crucial aspect to consider is that nanobubbles operate at length scales where classical continuum thermodynamics becomes questionable as interfacial effects, molecular discreteness, and thermal fluctuations can no longer be neglected. As a result, conventional approaches may not be reliable for understanding their behavior. Theoretical frameworks such as the Epstein–Plesset model predict nanosecond-scale dissolution, while actual measurements show weeks-long stability...

Let me tell you from experience, it sucks when you have a very common last name. It's why we chose to give my sons my wife's beautiful rare last name of Italian origin, even if everyone pronounces it wrong and even if they're easy, unlike me, to find them (or stalk them) on the internet where happily, they have positive profiles.

With a common name, the same jokes, year after year, decade after decade, you're expected to laugh, even if you've heard it a zillion times. I try to be gracious about it, sometimes it's difficult.

The Epstein-Plesset model was first published in 1950, by "P.S. Epstein" at the California Institute of Technology.

J. Chem. Phys. 18, 1505–1509 (1950)

I don't know anything about P.S. Epstein, but he or she wrote a long time ago, 76 years ago, and presumably he or she didn't live long enough to hear even worse jokes than the ones I hear because the name "Epstein," unlike my name, has become a pejorative. The famous people associated with my name - there are many - were all admired in general social culture, albeit in a sometimes goofy way.