Moog Music Forum

In Isaac Asimov's novel and short story (short story later expanded) Nightfall, there's a character named "Theremon 762".

The whole novel is about darkness and innate fear, and a theremin, a type of musical instrument, is known for being used to convey a sense of suspense or fear.

Is there any evidence that Asimov based Theremin 762's name on the instrument?

interesting possibility... but seems unlikely. The theremin as a spooky sound wasn’t a thing in the US mainstream until after WWII... (mostly in the 50’s —1944’s the Lost Weekend being an early example). Asimov’s book was written in 1941, but I guess it’s possible he could have been introduced to it in the concert hall if he had been into modern composition.