Cryptic crossword clue
Scientist, absent-minded, departs for week

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word FARADAY

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
F
A
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A
D
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Scientist" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case scientist = faraday.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does FARADAY mean?

FARADAY noun
  1. The quantity of electricity required to deposit or liberate 1 gram equivalent weight of a substance during electrolysis; approximately −96,487 coulombs.

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