American Journal of Physics

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  The American Journal of Physics began its life in February 1933 under a different name entirely. Back then it was called the American Physics Teacher, a quarterly publication launched by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The journal asked a question that remains at the heart of physics education: how do you take the discoveries reshaping our understanding of the universe and bring them into the classroom in a way that actually works? What makes this journal unusual is who it is written for. Not the researchers pushing the frontier, but the teachers and students trying to understand it. And woven through its decades of publication is a question about what physics education even means.

• 2. From Teacher to Journal

  ›

  Volume 1 of the American Physics Teacher appeared in February 1933, when it was published as a quarterly. By 1937, the publication had grown frequent enough to shift to a bimonthly schedule, appearing every two months. That pace held through 1939. After volume 7 was published in December 1939, the editors made a decision that reflected an ambition larger than the original title suggested. In February 1940, the journal relaunched under the name the American Journal of Physics, beginning again at volume 8. The name change signaled something: the publication was no longer just about teachers. It was about the discipline itself, seen through the lens of those who teach and learn it.

• 3. Scope and Purpose

  ›

  Beth Parks of Colgate University serves as the current editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physics. Under her leadership, the journal publishes material that covers a wide range of territory beyond standard research papers. Laboratory demonstrations, instructional equipment, and teaching methodologies all have a home here alongside current research in physics. The journal also covers historical, philosophical, and cultural aspects of physics, a range that sets it apart from journals focused purely on new discoveries. Book reviews and lists of resources round out each monthly issue. The intended readership spans college and university physics teachers and students, which means the writing must work for both experts and those still working toward expertise.

• 4. Impact and Indexing

  ›

  According to the Journal Citation Reports, the American Journal of Physics recorded a 2020 impact factor of 1.022 based on data from Clarivate's 2021 report. By 2023, that figure stood at 0.8. The journal is indexed across a broad set of databases, from Chemical Abstracts and Mathematical Reviews to the Current Index to Journals in Education, which is part of the ERIC database through CSA Illumina. It also appears in the Applied Science and Technology Index from H.W. Wilson Company and in Physics Abstracts, the Science Abstracts series. The reach into databases covering aerospace, energy research, and electronics reflects how widely the physics curriculum extends into applied fields. The journal is published monthly, jointly, by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics.