Professor Proton

Arthur Jeffries, Ph.D.—a.k.a. Professor Proton— is a down-on-his-luck former 's show host who's hired by Sheldon and Leonard to  them. Professor Proton was known for demonstrating principles using everyday objects. Proton often would dispense the, "There is no you can't solve, if you use your noggin’.” The Professor Proton  lyrics read, "Grab your , put your  on. Here he comes, Professor Proton." His beloved  – Gino The  – was a blue,   with an, a , and  costume under a lab coat.

It turns out that Sheldon and Leonard grew up on that show, and that made them want to become. When Sheldon and Leonard learned that their  was in the business of doing private science shows for paying, they seized on the chance to hang out with the  and do some. Unfortunately, the good professor was under the impression that he was going to be doing his act for, as opposed to grown men who were already respected scientists.

When they met him -- in the, as they'd neglected to tell the 83-year old that the elevator didn't work -- Sheldon freaked him out with his excitement at being allowed to call him “Arthur” and getting as close to him as he wanted without his mom telling him he would hurt his. The Professor even went so far as to ask Leonard if Sheldon was. Leonard simply responded that “he’s a ”. After Sheldon took his and offered to race him up the stairs, the Professor asked Leonard if “the ” was really his. When Leonard said yes, he told him that he’s the one who’s a genius.

Once he was sitting awkwardly on the trying to figure out why he was there, Leonard told him they just thought it would be nice to  with him and hear about his. According to Jeffries, when the Professor Proton show ended, he couldn't find work in, and he was seen as a among serious scientists in spite of his very real PhD from , so he ended up on the  circuit, building  and sucking eggs into s for the  of children (and Penny). He seemed that two grown men, s even, wanted him to put on a kids science show. He did though, or at least part of one, reacting with growing dismay to Penny’s lack of  and general. He thought of himself as a and the final straw, that two full-grown  apparently adored him enough that they wanted him to do a show in their, was enough to  him over the edge and declare himself. Jeffries revealed: He’s 83, other scientists think he’s a joke, he has a in his  and the  that controlled his sidekick Gino also did his wife. So, what good has it done?

Sheldon went to get his  of Professor Proton and he and Leonard explained how his show was the reason that they and others like them got interested in and pursued careers in science. Sheldon credited Jeffries with giving him not only a, but a of sorts, during a difficult time in his life. He claimed that without Proton to guide him, he could have ended up anywhere—and so could have all of the young future scientists who tuned into Jeffries' show. Whatever amazing Leonard and Sheldon make are, in a way, Jeffries' discoveries too.

Professor Proton was so touched that his  and Sheldon's awesome day got even better when he got to ride in the  with his idol and  him with the latest rendition of "Soft Kitty." Unable to perform for a birthday party the following day, Jeffries bestowed his mantle upon Sheldon and asked him to fill in -- he could be Professor Proton, Jr.

In "The Proton Displacement", Sheldon, Amy and Leonard spot Professor Proton at the. Sheldon reintroduces himself since he doesn't think that he'll remember him because of his advanced age. He also introduces Amy as his girlfriend that astonishes Professor Proton. Amy then shakes his hand and then notes that they have the same. She can't believe that she dresses like a. Professor Proton then understands how he has a girlfriend. Later, Leonard then gets an from Professor Proton. He is working on a paper about and he wants Leonard to read it. Sheldon gets.

Amy tries to tell Sheldon that others consider him. Sheldon goes over to Professor Proton and apologizes to him. He also suggests that Professor Proton let him read his paper. He declines.

Leonard and Professor Proton are in Leonard's lab with Leonard telling him that if people had told him  later he would be working on science with Professor Proton, he would not have believed them. Arthur quips that if people had told him that people would still be calling him Professor Proton at the age of 83, he would not have stopped. Sheldon shows up with his new and, Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Sheldon tells Arthur that he replaced Arthur with a newer. Bill Nye finds it an to meet Arthur Jeffries since his show was based on Professor Proton. Arthur snaps as him that that was what he had told his, implying that they have had a concerning the  of  Bill Nye's science show. Professor Proton allow objects to Bill Nye inspecting his latest. "Haven't you stolen enough from me? Back off, Bow Tie!" Professor Proton also asks Leonard why he puts up with Sheldon. He gets Leonard to admit that Sheldon is the smartest person he has ever met, that he is a little broken and he needs him and Leonard needs Sheldon.

Later in Apartment 4A, Arthur Jeffries visits Sheldon. Sheldon is surprised that he was there. Arthur asks him to look at his paper and Sheldon tells him that it would be an honor. Then Sheldon adds that he already into Arthur's  account and  it. Arthur asks what he thinks. Sheldon starts with he thinks its using his y date as a. The paper, Sheldon feels is. Arthur thanks him. After Sheldon describes his favorite  of the Professor Proton series, was the rocket, Sheldon runs off to get some Alka-Seltzer so they can recreate the experiment. Arthur then asks if Penny has any single. Penny does, however; they are. He then wonders if they are happily married. Penny looks non-committal (comme ci, comme ça) which makes Arthur happier.

He dies in the most recent episode.

Trivia

 * Chuck Lorre has said he's been pursuing to appear on one of his shows for a long time. Gino_The_Neutrino.jpg suggested The Big Bang Theory to Mr. Newhart, who accepted under two conditions: (1) his  had to be taped live, and (2) he wanted it to be a semi-recurring role. Lorre was fine with both and later called him with the story of Professor Proton. It's a recurring part. He'll probably do two more episodes next year.
 * Bob Newhart was nominated for a 2013 for his comedy performance as Professor Proton and won.
 * Sheldon purchased a Gino The Neutrino puppet replica on for $20 (including shipping) that he enthusiastically showed to Professor Proton. However, the puppeteer for Gino The Neutrino slept with Arthur’s wife, causing Mr. Jeffries to hate the puppet Gino.
 * While sitting on the couch, in Sheldon's spot, in the apartment, Professor Proton asks Penny if this is some sort of dream.  The TV show 's ended with the entire sitcom being a dream in the mind of, Bob Newhart's character from the original .  The series ended with Dr. Hartley waking up in his bed and proceeding to tell his wife from the first show, Emily, about his dream and the crazy people in it, including his beautiful blonde wife.  Afer Emily, a , shuts off the light and tries to go back to sleep, she abruptly turns the light back on and says, "What do you mean she was a blonde?"  This one line, in this one scene, may be an homage to one of TV's most famous and surprising story arcs.
 * While sitting on the couch, Professor Proton at one point sat in Sheldon's spot, something that even Sheldon himself didn't mention.  He is the only person to this day to have gotten away with sitting in Sheldon's spot.
 * Professor Proton's comment about giving up smoking may refer to Bob Newhart's movie "Cold Turkey" where he played a cigarette company executive that promoted smoking.