I believe that everyone knows well what the experiment physicist doing though, I am trying to explain now how the study of physics is going. The study is going like these simple steps,
- Coming up with ideas
- Checking what people already knew or have done
- Planning the experiment
- Doing experiment including the development of new instrument
- Analyzing data including the development of analysis methods
- Knowing what I could prove and can’t
- (Sometimes) discussing them with theorist
- Submitting paper, getting critiques from referee(s) of paper, and answer
- Publishing paper and making presentations
Easy, hah? I am an experimental physicist. Penney would say “Is that all, is that so simple?” And then Sheldon would say “That’s why Yano (Lenard) does”
To enjoy physics, I need to be confident enough to do these steps. I am thinking always that “bottom neck” of this process and also trying to improve the quality and speed of these steps. As you know, if you have a bottle neck one of these steps, that step determines your productivity. And if you don’t do these processes higher than the standard of science community, you are nothing. As a scientist, I am careful, not to stuck somewhere on these processes.
These days, I was working on mainly step 1-3. I was preparing the proposal for the next experiment cycle which is the first half of 2015. Since I am using reactor, my study and the proposed experiment need to be approved by facilities. I am mainly using Japan (J-PARC, Tokai, Japan), U.S.A (SNS, Oak ridge national laboratory, Oak ridge, Tennessee), and Australia (ANSTO, Sydney, Australia) to complete my study.
Also my responsibility will be to review other scientist’s proposal who will want to use the machine I am in charge of in Australia. One thing I am totally excited is this reviewing process. I will read these proposals very carefully to criticize, assess, and judge to determine whether or not we make them use the machine. By doing so, I will learn a lot. Can you believe this? I could review top level scientist’s ideas earlier than anyone else. I will have to read a lot though, how can the wonderful job be for the future of my science career?
So then, I am reading a lot of papers to write proposals. And I always regret I had started this much earlier though, I am excited to do these 1-3 processes. I happened to find the problem which had never been solved. But, since the problem is old, actually one of the oldest problems which many textbooks already use these as an example, I have to be very careful to say “I have something to accomplish on this problem” But if I succeeded, that would be a considerable contribution to physics. Why not trying?
While, I will finish several more paper before I go to Australia which is step 8 and 9. My goal for 30’s is making these processes my habit. I would love to do more, and I will make every step better, deeper, faster. By doing these, I will have “Passion” to love and enjoy science. This is the most important. Some people say about step 8 is the only goal for scientist so called “publish or perish”. I understand that though, so why then enjoying the every steps to publish? Scientists have to publish anyway!!