The Three Major Journals

The time for applying for postgraduate studies is always in the second half of the year, so even though Du Ke and Professor Tao had already confirmed his recommendation for postgraduate studies, there wasn't anything for him to do for now.

So, Du Ke continued with his usual routine.

However, his relationship with Professor Tao had become much more amicable than their previous purely transactional one.

A week later, the third paper, "How the Interaction of Forces in Electron Flow Maintains Equilibrium", which had been polished for enough time, was finally completed and handed over to Professor Tao for revisions.

Looking at the draft in his hands, Professor Tao was extremely excited: "This is so much better than the semi-finished product I saw last time. Not only is the content solid, but these few diagrams are also exquisite. Look, what beautiful mechanical equilibrium!" The diagrams were hand-drawn by Du Ke, illustrating how electron flow and proton flow, formed after atoms pass through a barrier, maintain a relative balance of forces between them.

"This paper is good, right? It's packed with substance."

"It's overflowing!" Professor Tao didn't skimp on his praise. "If you combine these three papers into one, add some detailed and in-depth research, and polish the English translation, I think you could submit it to Science and Nature. Seriously, especially your third paper, it directly achieves mechanical equilibrium, essentially turning previous hypotheses from blueprints into tangible reality."

Science is the journal Scientific, and Nature is the journal Natural. Both are top-tier SCI journals. Add to that Cell, which focuses on life sciences, and you have the journals where most of the world's most important and cutting-edge research results are first published.

It can be said that researchers worldwide dream of publishing their papers in these three major journals.

Of course, in terms of impact factor, the rankings for these three journals in 2020 were 16, 15, and 21 respectively, all hovering around 40. There were still over a dozen journals with higher impact factors, such as the god-tier journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, with an impact factor as high as 292. However, due to their different positioning, their impact factors were not as high.

"Then why don't I just combine the three papers and submit them directly to Science and Nature?" Du Ke's sole intention was to make a big splash.

Professor Tao quickly said: "Don't rush. Publish these three papers in the Journal of Chemical Physics first to build some reputation for yourself. Then, you can synthesize them and write a more detailed paper to submit to those two journals. The probability of acceptance will be higher. Otherwise, as a newcomer with no reputation, your submission might not even pass the initial review."

Even the most authoritative and top-tier SCI journals have their social dynamics.

If you're a newcomer, your paper naturally has a huge probability of being rejected. If you have a reputation, as long as the paper isn't bad, it will generally be accepted. Of course, even as a newcomer, if a big shot recommends you, it's very likely to be accepted. Du Ke clearly didn't fall into this category; he was a newcomer and didn't know any big shots, so even a brilliantly written paper carried a significant risk of rejection.

"Little Du, don't aim too high. You need to understand that top SCI journals have their own small circles and tend to support their own. Do you know what 'their own' means? It means if you've published in my journal, you're one of us. If your teacher or recommender has published in my journal, you're also one of us. You have neither a teacher nor have you published before, unless your paper's quality far surpasses that of other papers in the journal."

He paused, then continued, "But think about it, your electron flow theory is mostly conjecture. Even if mechanical equilibrium is achieved, it's still an ideal state. No matter how you write it, you can't completely overshadow those top papers, right? How could Science and Nature possibly accept you?"

Du Ke thought about it and realized it made sense. How could papers published in Science and Nature be easily overshadowed by his?

If he couldn't overshadow others, why should he snatch a spot from their papers? It's important to remember that behind paper publications lie tangible benefits like professional title assessment and funding applications. Journal reviewers are human, and these interests naturally come into play. In fact, publishing just one paper in one of the three major journals is enough to secure a job at any university in China.

If he published two, he could pick and choose any 985 or 211 professorship.

"I was just joking, Professor Tao. After you've revised it, please publish it in the Journal of Chemical Physics."

"By the way, Little Du, let me ask one more thing. Do you have a fourth paper?" Professor Tao looked at Du Ke with burning eyes and strong anticipation. He felt Du Ke was a bit too calm, as if he looked down on the Journal of Chemical Physics.

This situation meant either Du Ke was overly arrogant and hadn't experienced the harshness of the real world, or he was fully confident and had better options.

He had known Du Ke for half a year and didn't think Du Ke was the type to be arrogant. He was good with people and had good morals, clearly having gone through some hardships to become this way.

"Well, I need to think about it. I can't guarantee if there's a fourth paper." Du Ke was cautious and didn't commit too much.

However, Professor Tao's eyes lit up: "So, you do have one!"

"Uh, didn't I say I can't guarantee it?"

"Haha, how can I not see through you? Little Du, if you truly didn't have one, you would have just said so. Adding 'can't guarantee' means you do have one. Tell me, what are you planning to write for your fourth paper? How will you elaborate on electron flow?" Professor Tao looked triumphant, increasingly satisfied with his future student. He felt he had reached the peak of his academic career and his paper output had significantly declined in recent years, relying on students to carry him.

"I'll keep it a secret for now. I'll tell you after I finish writing it. It is indeed to supplement the theoretical knowledge of electron flow."

"Good, I'll be waiting. Make sure to let me see it first, give me a sneak peek."

"Of course."

Professor Tao then left with the new paper. Upon returning home, he didn't sleep and immediately busied himself with revisions, working even more diligently than when he wrote his own papers. His wife saw this and couldn't help but complain.

"What do you know, you're just a housewife! This is Little Du's new paper!"

"What's up? Has Little Du written another paper?"

"Big news! Three papers in a row, this is going to be huge! Find an excuse to invite him over for dinner again someday, socialize more, and build a good relationship. My promotion to professor might depend on piggybacking off Little Du's papers." As Professor Tao spoke, he sighed with emotion, "Li Yun, do you know who I thought of when I saw Little Du?"

Li Yun was Professor Tao's wife's name. She asked curiously, "Who did you think of?"

"Cao Yuan!"

"The child prodigy Cao Yuan?"

"Yes, but Cao Yuan was a genius from childhood to adulthood. I knew him when he was in the gifted children class. No teacher at our Xiake University didn't know him. Everyone who saw him said he was a genius, that China couldn't teach him, and that he should go to MIT. Du Ke is different. He looks like the kind of person who is... ordinary... you wouldn't expect him to come up with such a theory."

"I think Little Du is quite handsome."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm talking about his academic aura!" Professor Tao's face darkened instantly, perhaps complaining that his wife was focusing on the wrong things, or perhaps because his wife found Du Ke handsome.