Questions tagged [questions]
The questions tag has no usage guidance.
319
questions
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Can I ask for an example?
I'd like to ask for an example in which the minimum energy principle is used (thermodynamics). However, I've never seen a question in which examples are required, so I got the doubt that it's not ...
3
votes
1
answer
68
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(How) Should I move a question from Math SE to Physics SE?
I asked a math question https://math.stackexchange.com/q/4475036/342834 in an area where physicists are likely to have a great deal of practical background. I had originally intended to post the ...
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2
answers
100
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Why don't we allow check-my-work questions?
John Rennie's answer in the meta thread currently has ~3x the upvotes of ACuriousMind's accepted answer. This seems to indicate we should allow check-my-work questions.
Why do we still consider these ...
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votes
2
answers
121
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Questions being responded to negatively
I know that there are some similar questions like this one, but I have a genuine concern. For example, the question A puzzling simple question on thermodynamics or another I had deleted.
Apparently ...
9
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2
answers
333
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Is sharing recreational physics models allowed?
As someone interested in physics and creating theories for games, I tend to develop realistic physical models that might explain them out of curiosity. However, I do not know if it fits the Physics ...
7
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2
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I am not a student and my questions are not "homework". I am a hobbyist. Do I need to tag these as homework questions?
I solve physics problems from a textbook that I enjoy. However, I am not a student and my questions are not "homework". I am a hobbyist. Do I need to tag these as homework questions? (I was ...
15
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0
answers
177
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Education tag and questions on physics education
Today, I have seen this question closed as an opinion-based question.
I have read previous (short) discussions about the issue of questions on physics education topics in SE (see also this), but I do ...
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3
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83
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Has it become time to change the homework policy?
I believe at this point the strict homework policy is reducing the ability of the site to grow. The initial idea of banning homework so that people don't use this site as course help has been long ...
3
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1
answer
64
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How does community wiki get decided on?
What are typically the criteria for marking a post as Community Wiki, besides having too many edits? I ask because I had a previous question get labeled as CW; if I understand correctly this label ...
11
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0
answers
244
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Why are "big-list" questions no longer allowed?
I've recently seen the following (actually very long and well accepted) question on MathOverflow. Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics. Which I think is a great "question" and one ...
7
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1
answer
75
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How do I see the reason a question was closed?
I often see "question has been closed" sometimes stating "off topic" with no other rationale. It says potential improvements should "address reasons for closure," but I'...
8
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2
answers
128
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Once a question has been cross-posted on a different site (i.e., a cross-site duplicate) and received an answer on the other site, what should we do?
The topic of cross-site duplicates has come up in many Physics.Meta questions so far, for example:
Is it OK to cross-post a question that you previously asked in other SE site?
Should users be cross-...
11
votes
4
answers
596
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Too focused on theoretical physics? Or how come there is so little experimental physics being asked here?
The vast majority of topics in this SE seem to be either school/college course related (i.e. with no relation to experimental practice) or academic topics related to all sorts of theoretical physics.
...
2
votes
1
answer
73
views
Inapproriate content to title
Recently this old question came to my notice because of a downvote:
Do magnets redshift light?
The content of the question is all about a hypothetical experiment full of unphysical hypotheseis:
...
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1
answer
49
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Is this question on-topic? Infinitely fast and strong laser targets the Earth
I would like to ask a purely hypothetical question regarding the following:
What if I had an infinitely strong and fast laser that can cut through anything it passes. If it has a fixed diameter (let's ...
10
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2
answers
301
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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 ...
5
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1
answer
64
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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 ...
3
votes
0
answers
71
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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 ...
11
votes
3
answers
390
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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 ...
7
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2
answers
208
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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 ...
2
votes
1
answer
72
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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?
0
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0
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58
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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 ...
0
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0
answers
64
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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
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4
answers
338
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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, ...
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1
answer
112
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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
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3
answers
300
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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 ...
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3
answers
421
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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, ...
14
votes
1
answer
215
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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 ...
2
votes
1
answer
51
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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 ...
1
vote
1
answer
106
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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-...
2
votes
1
answer
108
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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 ...
2
votes
1
answer
112
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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 ...
16
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1
answer
289
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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 ...
2
votes
2
answers
108
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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 ...
0
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0
answers
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Why has my question about the Einstein field equation been closed? [duplicate]
I would not have wanted to write this. In fact, I am so sorry of the fact that many times some questions are not considered as they are too stupid.
My question Scalar curvature is $0$ for ...
1
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1
answer
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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
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4
answers
137
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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 ...
2
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1
answer
69
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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
112
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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/...
18
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4
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666
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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 ...
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4
answers
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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 ...
5
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1
answer
110
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Choosing a Close Reason
What close reason should I choose for a question like this?
2
votes
1
answer
48
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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. ...
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2
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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 ...
29
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1
answer
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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 ...
10
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1
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333
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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 "...
11
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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 ...
11
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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 ...
7
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1
answer
428
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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
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1
answer
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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 ...