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There is a no dearth of crackpottery in the world of amateur physics research, nor in the world of independent research done by PhD-holding physicists. If I want to continue physics research in my own time after graduating and moving on to industry, what would be the best way to share my research with the physics community?

interoception
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    Why would you share your research any differently than before you left academia? – Dan Romik Aug 30 '19 at 17:56
  • Well, to even submit to a preprint journal, like the arXiv, you need an endorsement from someone affiliated with an academic institution. I was under the impression that there was a similar barrier in submitting to respectable journals, or that perhaps a financial barrier was in place that would normally be covered by an academic institution. – interoception Aug 30 '19 at 19:07
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    good point about the need for endorsement for arxiv submissions. I expect that for someone who has a PhD (and presumably already published one or two papers) this wouldn’t be a hard obstacle to overcome. As for the rest, as Buffy said you just submit your work for publication in the same journals other researchers do. To not be seen as a crackpot, the main thing is to not be a crackpot (that is, don’t write articles with crackpottish content). – Dan Romik Aug 30 '19 at 19:12
  • There is a no dearth of crackpottery […] in the world of independent research done by PhD-holding physicists – I would still contest that having a PhD in physics considerably reduces the chance that you publish crackpot research, in particular if it is in the subfield where you obtained your PhD. – Wrzlprmft Aug 30 '19 at 19:56
  • @Wrzlprmft I would not disagree with you. – interoception Aug 30 '19 at 20:27
  • Just write it up and submit it to a good journal. If it's valid work, clearly presented, it will shine through. If it's a crackpot rant, it will get the fate it deserves. Please tell me it's not hydrinos. – guest Aug 31 '19 at 04:25
  • Endorsement is only needed for a first submission in an area. If you've already posted to the arxiv during your Ph.D., you should be able to continue posting in the same field without an endorsement. – Noah Snyder Sep 01 '19 at 01:04
  • To be clear, I have not graduated yet, and I have no intention of working on crackpot physics. – interoception Sep 01 '19 at 11:46

1 Answers1

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Actually, you just write and submit papers just as if you were in academia. They will be reviewed in the normal way and published if they are seen to have merit. But if the reviewers tell you that you are a crackpot, then try hard to come up with better (or more acceptable) ideas.

But I think that physics research must be pretty hard without labs and a circle of collaborators, etc, that you find in academia. Theory can, perhaps, be done while you are a functionary in the Patent Office, but you need to stand out to make a name.

But if you have a supportive advisor you can, perhaps, get connected to a research group and work with them even though not employed.

But don't publish your work in venues normally associated with crackpots.

Buffy
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  • Thanks for your answer. I do, in fact, do theory and computation. I was under the impression that there would be some barrier to doing this, since submitting to the arXiv requires an endorsement from someone associated with an academic institution. – interoception Aug 30 '19 at 19:09
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    Just because you aren't employed, doesn't mean you are cut off from communication and collaboration. You should be able to arrange an appropriate endorsement. – Buffy Aug 30 '19 at 19:11
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    If you have a PhD at minimum, your adviser or someone similar from your time in school should be able to endorse you for arXiv, and that's a one-and-done thing. I can't speak for physics but in some areas of math there are a lot of posts to the arXiv by people who are not crackpots but not in regular academia. – JoshuaZ Aug 30 '19 at 19:16
  • As JoshuaZ said, your previous team would be happy to keep collaborating with you. From their point of view, they get free labor and ongoing relationship with someone in industry. They would be able to use you for external reviews and networking for students interested in industry. I am yet to see a team refuse to take credit for publications. Publications under the team or department banner are an important part of the metrics for the institution and outside grants. – Poidah Aug 31 '19 at 00:30