All Questions
354 questions
11
votes
2
answers
326
views
Should I avoid asking too many questions in a given time period (say, a day)?
Recently I've been getting a lot of physics questions, and I'm at the point where I'm asking a couple a day. Should I restrain myself, or can I go willy-nilly as long as they meet the standards of the ...
- 1,435
6
votes
1
answer
66
views
How can we bring an old question back to the users' attention?
The question we want to ask might have been posted by another user years ago. It is possible that the question did not get any answers or the answers were/are not satisfactory.
What should we do for ...
- 744
3
votes
0
answers
85
views
Maybe add an indicator showing level of question
There is an existing discussion/request for a system to tag or otherwise indicate level of questions:
Can we have a level-of-question tag please?
Differentiate research-level questions?
The idea is ...
- 61.8k
11
votes
3
answers
409
views
The “experience of a photon” question
I’m sure everybody is aware of the question that people love to ask, i.e. some variation of “what’s the experience of a photon (or someone traveling at $c$, etc)?” This question is always roundly ...
- 12.2k
7
votes
2
answers
212
views
How to treat suggested edits that "correct a formula"?
Once in a while I see a suggested edit that claims to "correct a formula" (this is usually written in the edit summary). Is there a general "rule"/recommended procedure for such ...
- 3,778
3
votes
1
answer
78
views
When does a closed question become open?
I have posted a question, Fidelity between initial state and final state. But due to inadequate details, it got closed. Now I have added details as much as possible. When will my question open again?
- 123
0
votes
0
answers
60
views
What can I do to improve this question?
I think there is some confusion regarding my question (which is not obvious to me). And for now it has $4$ downvotes and $2$ upvotes (and the comment section has become a mess).
Can someone enlighten ...
- 1,349
0
votes
0
answers
66
views
Reopen my question on physics [duplicate]
I'm sorry for being asking non clarified questions. That won't be repeated. Is it ok to remove the ban?
10
votes
4
answers
359
views
Why would my question on tachyons be closed as off topic if most other questions on tachyons are still open?
When I type tachyons into the search engine of the site I find a lot of open questions about tachyons but my question about tachyons was closed as off topic
If electrically charged tachyons exist, ...
- 2,021
-4
votes
1
answer
120
views
What if I ask a "what if" question?
What if I ask a "what if" question? What are the criteria for the question not to be closed? The question should be about physics. That's clear. The question shouldn't be completely random ...
11
votes
3
answers
322
views
When I post a self-answer, is it expected that in the question I should pretend I don't know the answer?
Stack Exchange explicitly encourages writing a self-answer, when appropriate.
Derek Muller posted a video about a wind-powered vehicle that can go downwind faster than that downwind itself.
(The ...
- 22.6k
-9
votes
3
answers
455
views
Is EM theory appropriate on Physics.SE?
I'm having trouble posting anything relating to EM theory derived from Maxwell on this site. I'm continually having posts deleted 7 day ban's refusing to accept references particularly my own work, ...
- 302
15
votes
2
answers
284
views
I am being told conflicting resolutions for fixing a closed question, what should I do?
I had a question that was closed, and I was given the following instructions:
Those questions listed did not provide me with the answer to my question, so I followed the advice and opened a new ...
- 357
3
votes
1
answer
54
views
Is a question about whether something is possible on topic?
Is a question that asks whether something is possible within the laws of physics on-topic here?
(Very vague) Example: assuming any level of technology, can you do this within the laws of physics, or ...
- 101
-1
votes
1
answer
115
views
Why did someone downvote my question without reading it completely?
I had asked this question today. Within 20 seconds someone had downvoted the question. Here's the proof:
It's not possible for a person to read the whole question in 20 seconds. So why did they down-...
user286470
2
votes
1
answer
113
views
Why are there few answers on homework-and-exercise questions?
I actually asked a question with the homework-and-exercises tag. Then, I was searching some question with the tag. I had visited 50 pages. Most of the questions don't have answers. And, most of the ...
user286470
2
votes
1
answer
123
views
Posting and self answering basic derivations
It can be difficult at times to find quality derivations for 'some' of the basic formula used in high school physics, so I thought what if I post and self answer the basic derivations. Does this sound ...
- 8,040
16
votes
1
answer
321
views
When are questions with multiple different possible answers good?
It is well known that we do not encourage/allow questions that solicit open-ended discussions or that can only be answered by providing personal opinions, etc. However, at least to me, it seems a bit ...
user87745
2
votes
2
answers
119
views
How much editing of a question is acceptable? (e.g. Chicken Question)
In regard to the chicken question meta post one of the answers included this paragraph:
This opinion is based purely on the actual question, and ignores the silly story. Surely the silly story can be ...
- 15.5k
1
vote
1
answer
73
views
Are downvotes (on the meta side) regarded as a (negative) answer to your question (on which you can answer yes or no)?
In this question I asked whether it is a good thing to edit a question with the purpose of downvoting it. It got downvoted 7 times (up till now). This was written:
Downvotes on Meta are different ...
0
votes
4
answers
140
views
Should "fun questions" be considered on- or off-topic?
There are a number of questions on this site that start with a fun, sometimes ironic context. Here are some more recent examples
How do I find the approximate surface area of a chicken? (meta ...
- 3,778
2
votes
1
answer
77
views
Why can't I vote two times to reopen a question?
This question received hot attention initially. Then it was closed. I and others didn't agree and voted to reopen. And so it was. Then, again, the question was closed. I wanted to reopen it, but ...
1
vote
1
answer
117
views
Should I re-ask a question that was recently closed by editing it and removing meta-comments?
I recently asked this question: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/622976/
This question was closed and I was directed to this meta thread by a comment: https://physics.meta.stackexchange.com/q/13449/...
user442
18
votes
4
answers
740
views
Bounty on "entrance exam" question
On the question Why is the center of a torch beam visible even through an opaque body like my finger?, the OP started a bounty stating
I really need this material to answer my entrance examination ...
- 51.6k
-2
votes
4
answers
252
views
Someone other than the OP adding "homework-and-exercises' tag to a question, and then the question gets closed as a homework-type-question?
On this question by Kashmiri, here, it was originally posted without the "homework-and-exercises" tag. And if you look at the question itself, nothing about it seems homework-type. Later the ...
- 30.2k
5
votes
1
answer
110
views
2
votes
1
answer
48
views
Where are the new questions?
I apologize if I am delusional and imagined this, but I believe that in a not-so-distant past it was possible to display questions sorted by date so as to get the most recent ones on top of the list. ...
- 3,256
-1
votes
2
answers
92
views
Why aren't "duplicate" questions allowed?
It implies that some random answer from the past is the definitive answer. And we all know that questions can be answered many different ways. And the duplicate question usually isn't an exact ...
user288901
30
votes
1
answer
634
views
The $F=ma$ competition was February 18th, 2021
The $F=ma$ competition is the largest physics competition in the United States, and took place online the afternoon after this Meta question first appeared. It is a multiple choice exam with tricky ...
- 105k
11
votes
1
answer
336
views
What is the mechanism for questions to go viral?
I have noticed that while most questions get a few views or a few hundred, some rack up, over time, hundreds of thousands. I understand how this sort of thing happens on social media, where "...
- 9,805
11
votes
1
answer
300
views
Does 'Semiconductor Physics' have a home in Physics SE?
I have seen a number of questions on PN-Junctions, Avalanche Breakdown, Biasing and MOS...etc, that have gone largely untouched; which is understandable, do these types of questions belong here or ...
- 1,806
11
votes
0
answers
240
views
Are Fermi problems allowed on physics.stackexchange? [duplicate]
I am new to physics.stackexchange.com, but I not new to Stack Exchange per se. I asked a question which I consider a Fermi problem:
In physics or engineering education, a Fermi problem [...] is an ...
- 115
7
votes
1
answer
431
views
Improvement of a poor question by non-authors
There are already many Q&A related to the improvement of a question by the original author. It is quite obvious and well documented how to proceed to improve the form of a question. However, I did ...
2
votes
1
answer
96
views
Is it possible to know why a question vanished from my "recent inbox messages"?
I have been for several days discussing a question with the asker using comments. Yesterday a message appeared asking me if I wanted to move the discussion to a chat. I asked the question asker if he ...
- 364
-9
votes
2
answers
164
views
Why is the 'Physics' Stack Exchange site closing some interesting questions?
I came to the main site for searching an interesting question about a possible universe inside atoms.
Here is a list of questions:
Universe inside atom
Does our Universe reside in the smallest ...
- 101
-2
votes
2
answers
375
views
Deleting answers due to the Homework policy is not beneficial
The homework policy doesn't seems like a counter-productive policy on Stack Exchange.
I understand Stack Exchange policing their questions, but policing removing answers to "homework like ...
- 401
5
votes
1
answer
89
views
What should be done with questions tagged [resource-recommendations] that are not actually asking for recommendations?
Continuing on from this discussion: Why was this answer made community wiki? — about a question that had the resource-recommendations tag.
As pointed out in Emilio Pisanty's answer, the main ...
BuzzMod
- 17.1k
2
votes
4
answers
100
views
Tags for calibrating answers to the level of question
A problem I find with the site is that often answerers don't know how to calibrate an answer to the level of the questioner. This was both good and bad for me personally as I'd get insight into topics ...
- 8,040
14
votes
2
answers
373
views
"You did the measurement wrong" is not an answer
I've seen two hot network questions in the past two days where one of the highly upvoted answers was a variation on "you did your measurement wrong". In both cases, this answer was ...
- 3,733
20
votes
3
answers
504
views
Is it encouraged to write an answer to your own question if it is just a summary of the comments?
I recently asked a question on how the uncertainity principle applies to a situation described there. There have been some comments, which, I think are at least partial answers. I commented that and ...
- 3,778
1
vote
4
answers
174
views
Another thread about deleted comments
This question is entitled If there is an infinite number of universes doesn't that mean there is a universe where there is not an infinite number of parallel universes?. I downvoted this question ...
- 17k
9
votes
1
answer
262
views
Are "check my understanding" questions permitted?
I know that "check my work" questions are off-topic, I understand the reasons behind that, but does this also apply to "check my understanding" questions?
For example:
My ...
- 6,049
3
votes
3
answers
486
views
Why don't some questions on Physics Stack Exchange have any answers for the past many years with very high votes? Why are they not active now?
The below links are two examples of such questions which are not answered in 7-8 years. I also read on that questions that they were active some 3-4 years ago. What is the problem with these types of ...
- 157
21
votes
5
answers
409
views
Are questions about the identification of physical phenomena on-topic?
This question was just closed as off-topic. It is a well presented question, which was well-received, and it got a good, canonical answer. The stated reason for closing was that "it doesn't ...
- 3,733
15
votes
2
answers
277
views
Care over closing "duplicate" questions
On a number of occasions, I have seen questions closed as duplicates although the linked question either did not have answers, or had only poor answers, and in some cases it had already been closed (...
- 11.8k
3
votes
1
answer
257
views
Answering question with multiple parts?
Suppose a user post a question with multiple parts.I know it's not recommended but suppose he does.
Ex: A question with multiple parts
I know it's a closed question but it's enough to illustrate my ...
- 1,691
1
vote
3
answers
162
views
Is it valid to ask for a brief translation for a paper in a foreign language?
I have been deterred to ask for a brief translation of an old physics Russian paper in the stack. Is it valid to ask such a question according to the policies of the site? If not, could it be worth to ...
- 791
-7
votes
2
answers
222
views
Meta-commentary in questions should sometimes be allowed
I've edited in a 'meta-comment' into this question, which was rolled back by a moderator:
Note: answer accepted for sake of closing the question, though parts remain unanswered, and will be ...
-7
votes
1
answer
254
views
Asking if the following post could be suitable for the main site Physics Stack Exchange
I've cross-posted yesterday this on Meta of the site MathOverflow Asking if the following post could be suitable for the main site MathOverflow.
I would like to ask if the following questions can be ...
-9
votes
2
answers
126
views
Easing our policy for some topics
At Physics StackExchange, we discuss almost all types of physics topics. Some get more attention and some get less, but it depends upon various things, including our site policy. Our policy has been ...
- 768