A kind of cycle a good scientist has

I was bit off from writing, now I came back to WordPress. I think WordPress is doing very good job. I can easily write the blog here. I can’t improve my quality of writing though, I think this time I am going to write more.

I am doing experiment at NIST with collaboration with American and Canadian  group. We just started our experiment on Thursday though, I was very impressed the instrument here and our collaborators.

For the instrument, we are using an improved triple axis spectrometer which uses multiple analyzers and a lot of detectors. This instrument is obviously one generation ahead of us. The reactor at NIST is not strong as neutron source with 20 MW like OPAL reactor (also 20 MW) but they know neutron scattering experiment very well. They designed very productive instrument.

We are also working with top group from Canada. They have big school there. The way of being productive in Science is what I have learned recently. A lot of people want to catch up with them, and people think are already close but that is not true. My field, in several months, the situation changes a lot, if you are late for 6 months, your competitors finish their work and most likely to be thinking for the next. So, basically you can’t catch up forever as long as you are doing the same things.

Normally, if they are good scientists, they would improve their ideas for the next with a kind of cycle, business people might say PDCA cycle. Experiment scientists do the cycle (Idea -> Plan -> making sample -> building instrument if  we need -> building sample environment if we need -> doing experiment -> analysis -> comparison with theory -> to submit paper -> to argue paper with referee -> to publish a paper). A excellent scientist makes that a habit. Their cycles are faster, exciting, and comfortable pace for their own. But, once you lose or slow this cycle it is hard to come back. That is what I am afraid of. I need to keep pace exciting enough to be competitive because, as long as you are a rational scientist, you can only improve one parameter at each cycle, then you lose chance to contribute because someone would do that first. Untalented scientists are trapped wrong cycle and they don’t know what they are doing. (I have been seeing a lot)

I have three projects of my own, the first one is multiferroic, second one is superconductivity and magnetism, and third one is magnetism. For the first project, I am far behind since I came in this project later but it has still a lot of things to learn form literature last 10 years. That is still O.K. I am thinking I am learning for the next.  The second project is about superconductivity and magnetism, I am very competitive situation. The third project on magnetism, I think I am ahead of people but so I would like to keep this position and lead this subject. I will write these projects in here to understand better. These are very important in physics I believe for both last 100 years and next 100 years.

Since the experiment here was successful and stable now, we went to Washington D.C. I have been there several times but I still like to see massive buildings. Sumithsonian National Air and Space Museum is a must for sure. And I will keep writing tonight.