A physics publisher is retracting 494 papers after an investigation “indicated that some papers may have been created, manipulated, and/or sold by a commercial entity” – aka a paper mill. The vast majority – 463 articles – are from the Journal of Physics: Conference Series, while 21 are from IOP Conference Series: Materials Science & … Continue reading Physics publisher retracting nearly 500 likely paper mill papers
A Springer Nature journal has retracted a 2019 article by a Slovenian physicist who claims that both Creationism and Big Bang theory are wrong, and that black holes are the engines driving the universe. The paper, in Scientific Reports, was titled “Mass-energy equivalence extension onto a superfluid quantum vacuum,” and was written by Amrit Srečko … Continue reading “Confrontation is an important element of physics progress:” Paper on black holes retracted
For those of you who think that critiques of feminism have no place in journals about physics, the Canadian Journal of Physics agrees. But it took them 30 years to get there. The journal has retracted a 1990 article by a notorious male chauvinist who claimed, among other things, that feminism was responsible for an … Continue reading 30 years later, physics journal retracts paper that blamed feminism for many of society’s ills
A paper on how the Koran anticipated the discovery of the Higgs Boson — aka the “God particle” — has been hit with an expression of concern. The article, “God particles in the perspective of The AlQuran Surah Yunus: 61 and modern science,” appeared in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series, which in 2017 published … Continue reading A physics paper claimed the Koran had predicted the discovery of the Higgs Boson. Now it has an expression of concern.
A physics journal says it has planned for several months to retract a 2006 paper by a prominent researcher with multiple retractions, after a concerned reader notified the editor about extensive duplication. But, more than seven months after receiving the complaint, the journal Thin Solid Films has not yet taken action. So what’s taking so … Continue reading A physics journal agreed to retract a paper several months ago. It’s still not retracted.
A physics journal has retracted a 2014 paper after a reader discovered a slew of errors. The paper, published in the Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, explored how the properties of nanofluids—fluids that contain nanoparticles—change as the fluid moves through different materials. According to the editor-in-chief, Greg Naterer, an outside expert—Asterios Pantokratoras, based … Continue reading “The results are essentially meaningless:” Typos, missing variables found throughout physics paper
Cornell University and a high-powered dean at the school face being held in contempt of court in a case stemming from their decision to deny tenure to a physics professor. Assistant professor Mukund Vengalattore told Retraction Watch he believes the school and the dean are violating a judge’s order instructing them to completely redo his … Continue reading NY court: Cornell faces being held in contempt after denying physics professor tenure (twice)
Researchers from China have retracted a physics paper after realizing an error led them to report results that were nearly 100 times too large. What’s more, the authors omitted key findings that would enable others to reproduce their experiments. According to the notice, the authors used a value to calculate a feature of electrons—called mobility—that … Continue reading Physics paper’s results off by factor of 100
After an international group of physicists agreed that the findings of their 2015 paper were in doubt, they simply couldn’t agree on how to explain what went wrong. Apparently tired of waiting, the journal retracted the paper anyway. The resulting notice doesn’t say much, for obvious reasons. Apparently, some additional information came to light which … Continue reading Researchers disagree over how to explain doubts over physics findings
A physics journal has retracted a 2016 study after learning that the author published it without the knowledge or permission of the funder, which had a confidentiality agreement in place for the work. According to the retraction notice in Applied Physics Letters, the paper also lifted content from other researchers without due credit. Given the “legal … Continue reading Physics journal removes study for breach of confidentiality