John Bell and the most obscure journal in physics

John Bell's theorem—proving that quantum mechanics cannot be explained by local hidden variables—was published in nineteen sixty-four in *Physics Physique Физика*, an obscure journal founded that year by two Bell Laboratories physicists frustrated with traditional peer review: Bernd Matthias and Philip Anderson, a future Nobel laureate. Per Physics World, rather than using referees, they reviewed every paper themselves and paid authors ten cents per word. The journal lasted only four years, but it worked: Anderson and Matthias recognized Bell's merit when his work was still obscure. When physicist John Clauser discovered the paper in nineteen sixty-seven, he carried out the first Bell test in nineteen seventy-two, sparking experiments that transformed quantum mechanics and enabled quantum technologies. Clauser shared the twenty twenty-two Nobel Prize in Physics for that achievement.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton