About KVANT
KVANT is a Danish popular science magazine that publishes engaging articles on physics, astronomy, geophysics, and related fields – ranging from basic research to applied technology. The magazine is primarily aimed at readers with an interest in physics at bachelor level, but anyone with an interest in the natural sciences can find inspiration in its content.
The magazine is written by physicists and engineers with a passion for communicating the latest knowledge and developments in the field. KVANT has more than 2,300 subscribers and serves as a focal point for everyone who is passionate about the world of physics, including many former physics students who wish to stay professionally up to date.
Access
KVANT is published four times a year, both in print and online here on tidsskrift.dk. Readers can obtain access and receive the latest issue through a subscription via the publishing societies the Danish Physical Society, Selskabet for Naturlærens Udbredelse and the Astronomisk Selskab, or directly through KVANT.
In addition, one free copy of the magazine is distributed to physics teachers at teacher training colleges and upper secondary schools (STX and HTX) throughout the Danish Realm. The magazine is also available via subscription to the country’s main libraries and science-based companies in Denmark.
KVANT is a non-profit organisation. The editorial team, reviewers, and authors do not receive remuneration, and all work is carried out on a voluntary basis. Likewise, no publication fees are charged to authors.
KVANT is working strategically towards becoming a fully green Open Access journal, financed through the established S20 subscription model. Until this goal is reached, Open Access is provided with a six-month embargo.
Content
The articles published in the magazine are written at a semi-popular level, where researchers communicate their work in Danish to an interested readership.
Each issue aims to include several short, accessible, and well-illustrated articles of broad interest and high academic quality, as well as, from time to time, longer and more in-depth background articles.
Regular Sections
- Articles
- Op-Ed
- PhD Articles
- Physics in Practice
- Problems
- Current Topics in Physics
- KVANT News
- Mini-reviews
- Book Reviews
The magazine also publishes announcements from the Astronomical Society, the Danish Physical Society, and the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science, including information about lectures, annual meetings, and other events organised by the societies.
All articles undergo light editorial review to ensure readability. In addition, the individual sections apply different levels of scientific review.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that copyright for images, graphs, and illustrations is in order. All articles published from 2026 onwards are released under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC 4.0.
The History of KVANT
KVANT was founded in 1990 as the successor to Fysisk Tidsskrift (founded in 1902), which ceased publication at the same time. The magazine was originally published by two societies: the Danish Physical Society (DFS) and the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (SNU).
In 1998, the Astronomical Society (AS) joined as a publishing society, and the subtitle was changed from “Journal of Physics” to “Journal of Physics and Astronomy”. A few years later, the Danish Geophysical Society (DGF) joined as a publishing society. In 2020, DGF merged with DFS and became a section within it.
With the expansion in 1998, a news section was also established, and increased emphasis was placed on astronomy. Members of the Astronomical Society subsequently received KVANT as their membership magazine, replacing Astronomisk Tidsskrift (founded in 1916), which from 1968 to 1998 had been published as a joint Scandinavian journal. KVANT can therefore be regarded as a continuation or merger of both Fysisk Tidsskrift and Astronomisk Tidsskrift, but with a more popular-science profile.