Free journals of maths and physics?

  • Context: Calculus 
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the search for free journals in mathematics and physics that are accessible to beginners with no prior knowledge of the subjects. Participants explore the nature of academic journals versus textbooks and suggest various resources.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about free journals designed for teaching beginners in mathematics and physics.
  • Another participant argues that while all journals aim to educate, they typically assume a certain level of prior knowledge that may not suit absolute beginners.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that introductory textbooks serve the purpose of teaching foundational concepts, which journals do not typically fulfill.
  • Some participants mention specific journals, such as the American Journal of Physics and European Journal of Physics, noting that while they aim to teach, they still require readers to have basic knowledge from textbooks.
  • Links to arXiv are provided as a resource for accessing papers from the mentioned journals for free.
  • One participant shares a resource they found that is not free but has a low subscription cost, comparing it to well-known journals like Science and Nature.
  • Several participants suggest that the resources being discussed may be more akin to magazines rather than academic journals, listing various science magazines and news sites as alternatives.
  • A final post reiterates the initial inquiry about free journals and suggests that university students in the US may have access to journals through their institutions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the suitability of journals for teaching beginners, with some asserting that journals are not designed for that purpose, while others point out exceptions. The discussion does not reach a consensus on the existence of suitable free journals.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the limitations of journals in teaching foundational concepts and the dependency on prior knowledge, which may restrict their accessibility for beginners.

jonjacson
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Hi folks,

I am searching free journals of maths and physics that are written to teach, so you can learn even if you have no idea of the content (previously I mean).

Does it exist something like that?
 
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All journals are written "to teach", but all assume a particular starting point more advanced than "no idea of the content". You can only do so much in a few pages.
 
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jonjacson said:
so you can learn even if you have no idea of the content
That's what introductory textbooks are for. They are used in schools and universities. Journals are not.
 
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BvU said:
That's what introductory textbooks are for. They are used in schools and universities. Journals are not.
That's true, but not completely true. American Journal of Physics and European Journal of Physics have the purpose to teach. Yet, the papers in those journals should be used as a supplementary material, i.e. they assume that the the reader has already learned the basics from a textbook.

Many papers from those journals are available for free on arXiv:
https://arxiv.org/search/advanced?a...acts=show&size=50&order=-announced_date_first
https://arxiv.org/search/advanced?advanced=1&terms-0-operator=AND&terms-0-term="Eur.+J.+Phys."&terms-0-field=journal_ref&classification-physics_archives=all&classification-include_cross_list=include&date-filter_by=all_dates&date-year=&date-from_date=&date-to_date=&date-date_type=submitted_date&abstracts=show&size=50&order=-announced_date_first
 
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Well folks, I found a very good fit for what I was looking for.

https://www.investigacionyciencia.es/

It is in Spanish and it is not free, but the suscription is very low.

I guess this is like Science and Nature in English, more or less.

Thanks for all the answers.
 
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jonjacson said:
Hi folks,

I am searching free journals of maths and physics that are written to teach, so you can learn even if you have no idea of the content (previously I mean).

Does it exist something like that?
If you are still a student to a university in the US. Then the school should have access to journals (ie., subscription for the school), either through the library or the specific department the journal's contents belong to.
 
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