SCI Journal

"Professor Tao, please finish reading it before you comment," Du Ke said calmly.

After all, it was a product of the Fantasy World, with a structure vastly different from Earth-made products. Naturally, the underlying principles would far exceed the current boundaries of Earth's science.

This highlighted Du Ke's paper, which indeed had the full flair of a self-taught scientist.

"Sigh!" Professor Tao shook his head, his mind wandering slightly, but he continued to read.

The introductory section consisted of dry, descriptive text devoid of any rhetorical flourish, which made his eyes ache. Some of the academic terms were even non-standard, and while it seemed to offer a high-level, overarching perspective, in his eyes, it was all empty boasting, the kind self-taught scientists loved.

Professor Tao's contempt grew, and he began to skim the pages. After flipping a page, as these bombastic phrases increased, he gradually began to discern some substance.

"It seems to be discussing a theoretical hypothesis?" he mused, slowing his pace from skimming to reading carefully.

This took five minutes.

After finishing the entire paper, he even returned to the first page and reread it carefully from the beginning.

It was only after Professor Tao finished his second read that Du Ke asked with a smile, "How was it?"

"Hiss..." Professor Tao looked at Du Ke in astonishment, and after a long pause, replied, "Did you really write this paper?"

"How could it be fake?"

"It truly can't be fake; plagiarism detection would never find anything, as there are far too many incorrect academic terms."

"Ahem, it's mainly about the content."

"The content, how should I describe it?" Professor Tao chose his words carefully. "My first impression was that it's quite ethereal and impractical, but upon further reflection, your paper's concept of electron flow and proton flow separation is indeed a very bold and innovative idea. However, to be honest, realizing it would be extremely difficult."

Difficult for Earthlings, but for the Fantasy World, even a caterpillar could do it. Du Ke continued, "So, Professor Tao, do you think this paper of mine can be published?"

"If you revise the wording and polish it a bit, it might be published in an academic journal, but it still depends on whether the editor can appreciate your concept. Also, I think changing 'Feasibility Study on the Aggregated State of Compressed Electrons' to 'A Hypothesis on the Aggregated State of Compressed Electrons' might increase the approval rate."

"Alright, I'll revise it when I get back. By the way, Professor Tao, do you have any good academic journals you could recommend?"

"How about 'Journal of Chemical Physics'? It's sponsored by the Chinese Physical Society and published at our Huaxia University of Science and Technology. Its impact factor is a bit low this year, only 0.4, but it's quite suitable for publishing papers like yours. And I can give you some recommendations; I know many of the editorial board members there."

"Isn't the impact factor a bit low?"

"It is a bit low, but with my recommendation, your chances of passing are quite high. There are some SCI journals with high impact factors in China, but they receive many submissions, and the editors have to review several papers a day. So, if they see your paper, they might just reject it without a thorough read."

"But it's only a 0.4 impact factor." Du Ke felt a little unbalanced.

He knew that although this was just a preliminary paper, it represented a vast new system. Even if it didn't make a splash, it should at least have a good opening statement.

Professor Tao spread his hands. "Take it slow. You're a complete newcomer now, with no published papers, only having participated in paper design. Accumulate some experience first, then aim higher. Besides, the 'Journal of Chemical Physics' I've chosen for you is not a low starting point; it's an SCI journal from the get-go!"

SCI stands for Science Citation Index, and journals indexed by SCI are SCI journals. Once a paper is cited, it gains an impact factor.

In China, one of the prerequisites for promotion to professor or researcher, or for awarding doctoral and master's degrees, is publishing a certain number of SCI papers. Although the state repeatedly emphasizes not to solely pursue SCI papers, for now, progress still requires publishing SCI papers.

"Can I submit to multiple SCI journals at the same time?"

"It's best not to; submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals or duplicate submissions will get you blacklisted by the editorial board." Seeing Du Ke's reluctance, Professor Tao pondered for a moment and said, "How about you submit to 'Plasma Science and Technology' first? Its impact factor is around 1.2. Let's see if their editorial board accepts it."

"Okay, I'll revise it and submit it right away."

"Wait a moment, you also need to translate it into English. To be published in an SCI journal, an English version is required. Of course, you could also submit to 'Acta Physica Sinica', which has an impact factor of 0.6 and is a Chinese journal. But honestly, its influence is not as good as Xiake University's 'Journal of Chemical Physics'."

"My English is very poor. It seems I'll have to rely on machine translation, or perhaps Professor Tao, you could help me translate and polish it." Du Ke decided to continue paving his way with money.

Professor Tao readily agreed. "Alright, I'll find some time to polish it for you and translate it into English. But don't expect me to do a perfect translation; I even use an English dictionary when writing my own papers."

"It's fine, as long as it passes. As long as the paper's quality is high and the theory is advanced, even if I only write in Chinese in the future, many people will help me translate it." Du Ke was full of confidence. The paper he was about to publish represented a brand-new technological achievement. Once realized, it would have implications for unifying the New Energy sector.

Professor Tao, working for money, was very efficient. Within a week, he had revised the new paper for Du Ke.

Du Ke then promptly sent it to the editorial department of 'Plasma Science and Technology'. After submitting the manuscript, he left his contact information and buried himself in preparing his second paper. He planned to write ten papers on electron flow alone to introduce this system and spark others' imaginations.

The truly core technology would certainly not be published casually. What he was publishing were theoretical concepts, which, in Professor Tao's words, were "empty boasting."

Or you could call them creative ideas. For example, the principle of the atomic bomb is simple, but which country would dare say they could build one easily?

Without core technology and raw material support, at best, you could only build a dirty bomb.

Time flew by. Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. As expected, his paper was rejected by 'Plasma Science and Technology'.

"As I said, your paper's strength lies in its bold conception and excellent creativity, but the content itself isn't outstanding. Getting rejected was within expectations. You should submit it to 'Journal of Chemical Physics'; I'll recommend you, and the probability of approval is very high," Professor Tao said comfortably while drinking Longjing Tea.

"Sigh, I can only say the reviewing editor was blind. By the way, Professor Tao, I've written another paper. Could you take a look at it again?"

"Another one?" Professor Tao was surprised. "Do you have another new idea?"

He opened the neatly printed A4 paper. The title was striking: 'Accelerating Proton and Electron Bifurcation Using the Isolation Method'.

"Hmm, this is a follow-up to your previous paper. Not bad, Xiao Du, you've got a whole series planned. It looks like you've been strategizing for a long time." This time, Professor Tao no longer treated Du Ke as a self-taught scientist and read from the abstract very seriously. He spent ten minutes reading the short, six-thousand-word paper.

After finishing, he looked up and let out a long sigh of relief.