Questions tagged [scope]
For discussions about the site's scope - what questions and topics should and should not be on-topic on the site.
286
questions
-6
votes
2answers
177 views
Why is everyone so keen to answer physics questions by writing down tons of equations? [closed]
As a physicist, when you are tackling some new problem, shouldn't the first thing that comes to your mind be a rough idea? Why can't you answer questions with those rough ideas first?
Math is just a ...
6
votes
1answer
91 views
Are book/reference identification questions on topic?
While reading the general policy on resource recommendation, I was not able to answer if paper/book identification qualifies as an on-topic question.
This is inspired by this Meta question that asks ...
1
vote
3answers
75 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 ...
3
votes
0answers
58 views
Are “Do this calculations for me” question allowed here? [duplicate]
I have a problem to be solved (here) and an answer that brings all the necessary calculation steps (here). I can't do the calculations myself because I don't have enough knowledge and skills. I went ...
-6
votes
1answer
142 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
97 views
Can I ask here a simple calculation-like questions that I can't solve myself?
I have a simple (?) calculation like question that I can't solve myself due to not enough knowledge. Nearly like homework question, but hopefully not. Can I ask this kind of questions here?
For the ...
-10
votes
2answers
113 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 ...
6
votes
1answer
184 views
Question closed. Anything I can do to reopen it?
Not sure why this was closed:
How do you show that the Lorentz metric is preserved for $\zeta^{3,1}?$
I think it was closed because I bit off more than I could chew so to speak and should have just ...
21
votes
5answers
501 views
Is error-analysis not a physics topic?
I have a question about my Physics Stack Exchange post: How to incorporate the uncertainty of the model coefficients in the prediction interval of a multiple linear regression
I am dealing with a ...
-1
votes
2answers
138 views
Please help with alternative wording of question to conform with expectation of site
What changes would need to be made to the following question for it to be on-topic on this site?
Is there an alternative number to the 100% miscommunicated and hard-to-comprehend “total number of ...
2
votes
1answer
53 views
Question closed because considered opinion-based. How to change it?
I asked the following question a couple of days ago:
Difference in material covered between Zwiebach or Adams quant mech I on mit ocw?
The original question was deemed opinion-based (which I in hind ...
2
votes
2answers
92 views
Thought experiment closed as off-topic and better suited for engineering. But that's a thought experiment
The question in consideration is: Could there theoretically exist a material so light, that it can levitate in the air just due to the in height decreasing air pressure?
I think that's definitely a ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Question closed as opinion based, that is unusual but clearly not opinion based
The question in consideration is Actual eletronic games (as in, games played using electrons)?
I understand that this question is different from other questions on this site, but I think it can be ...
6
votes
2answers
133 views
Would this question be on-topic here? Might it be likely to receive an answer?
I'm writing a program and need a way to identify and enumerate the number of possible distinct crystallographic domains when depositing one 2D lattice on top of another.
I've posed this as a question ...
2
votes
5answers
342 views
Why was this Hot Network Question closed?
Why would this question be closed as Off-topic?
How is a 25-year-old can of soda now empty without having been opened or poked?
The topic seems to be suitable for this site, and the question was ...
10
votes
1answer
265 views
Questions about physics teaching pedagogy
Are questions that relate to how physics is being presented in teaching on topic in this site?
0
votes
0answers
54 views
Can I ask about these shoes from Dr.Stone? [duplicate]
I'm watching Dr.Stone (an anime/manga) and have noticed the rather odd shoe design used by a people of a village (shown below). Can I ask about how those shoes would be of benefit to the environment ...
2
votes
1answer
152 views
Are Questions about Unrealistic Physics Off Topic?
A few days ago a question was asked about how close one could safely approach a small non-radiating black hole.
A comment was made that "Micro black holes do evaporate, so this question is fictional ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Are questions of this sort allowed?
So I was tempted to ask this question (after some slight physics edits - see comment section) in physics stack exchange and would like the wisdom of the community if it would be closed or not?
Why I'...
0
votes
2answers
88 views
Are negative mass questions on/off topic?
I searched for the question about negative mass and they aren't closed as off-topic. But recently I posted this question and somebody voted to close this as off-topic (non-mainstream).
So I want to ...
-3
votes
1answer
83 views
Would a site on the interdisciplinary topic of climate change in Stack Exchange be supported? [closed]
The topic of climate change is an exemplary case of an interdisciplinary topic.
There is not one single scientific discipline of science working on it, but a wide spectrum.
It primarily includes ...
1
vote
0answers
77 views
Can I present an answer in the form of a leading question? [duplicate]
Like "Jeopardy" presents answers in the form of questions can I post a physics question and post my own answer to it? The presentation I want to make is a new type of math method to calculate and ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
Are all history questions now off-topic? [duplicate]
I saw that this question: Einstein's initial clue that spacetime is curved being flagged as off-topic, as it belongs on History of Science SE. However, there is a tag here for 'history' and it ...
2
votes
3answers
242 views
Can we consider MR Imaging questions as on-topic unless they ask for specific engineering solutions?
Context: This question on basic principles of image formation in medical MRI was asked in May 2014, received an accepted answer at the time, and was left unchallenged until August 2019, at which point ...
15
votes
8answers
691 views
Why is this question not considered an off-topic homework problem?
This question currently has a bounty on it and is receiving a lot of attention. But to me it looks like a question that is normally closed for being off-topic. The question reads like a homework ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Can we ask about book for studying? [duplicate]
I'm starting to study a new topic (spinors) and I don't know where I can study it, is it possible to ask for studying material?
3
votes
2answers
137 views
What, really, is a good question?
So it seems like the general consensus of a "good" question is one that includes adequate research/reasoning to provide context for/justify the question being asked, and if applicable cites sources ...
0
votes
2answers
107 views
Why is this question asking about lectures closed as a duplicate?
This question is currently closed for being a duplicate of this question. The closed question asks about recommendations about video lectures for quantum lectures while the second question asks about ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
How does the reason for closing a question correspond to the actual question?
My most recent question, Why do we assume fundamental properties like charge or mass do not consume anything? (currently deleted while I rephrase it), was put on hold given the following reason:
"We ...
8
votes
2answers
180 views
Asking about the origin of an equation?
Some grad colleagues in a local forum were asking about a certain system of equations of unknown origin, and I was wondering if I would be allowed to ask about it in the Physics Stack Exchange. My ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
Are questions about research topic considered to be on topic on Phys.SE?
I'm interested in working in a PhD research on a particular field. I've talked to a professor that despite his interest in supervising this work he would like me to come up with a few concrete ...
3
votes
3answers
407 views
How to handle references to literature in predatory journals
Are questions or answers that cite, refer to or are based on work published in predatory journals (in the sense discussed here, here, or here) to be tolerated?
If no, how do we check if a journal is ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
Where am I supposed ask questions regarding Physics education/research?
I asked this as a soft question How to explore Physics research as an undergraduate, keeping in mind the ever increasing weightage on publications?
I have explictly asked if this is the right place ...
4
votes
1answer
126 views
Where should I post a question about logic circuit minimisation?
I have a question about some logic circuits (I have the Boolean functions and truth tables) that I would like to minimise. Where would I post a question about this? I was thinking Physics firstly but ...
4
votes
3answers
243 views
Are partial answers to homework questions allowed?
I gave a partial answer to a homework questions here (now deleted; screenshots: question, answer) and was firmly told in comments that even partial answers to homework questions are not allowed. Is ...
2
votes
2answers
90 views
My question was put on hold
My question was put on hold because "homework-like".
I would like some clarification on this please. I am not asking anybody to do a conversion of me, I am asking whether the conversion mol/mm3 <->...
7
votes
1answer
130 views
Are industry related questions acceptable?
I was looking at this question on Physics SE which looks very much like a "trying to find an easy solution by someone else and take the credit at work" kind of thing. I personally think that this kind ...
4
votes
0answers
88 views
The on-topic page in the help center does not mention engineering
It recently came up in a meta post that OP had checked out the on-topic page in the help center, and could not see anything about engineering. That does seem to be the case, and although the tour ...
5
votes
1answer
84 views
Questions about statements in papers
I often read papers and am stuck on important statements/equations that are not satisfactorily explained to my understanding. Sometimes references are provided, but even then it's cumbersome to ...
8
votes
4answers
305 views
Requests for Solutions Manuals
In a recent meta post, 20 most viewed questions that need answers, there was a discussion on whether a couple questions (specifically Cohen Tannoudji solutions to exercises and Is there any solution ...
-3
votes
2answers
216 views
Are questions regarding gravitational waves allowed? [closed]
A question I have is "We know gravitational waves exist, but how do we detect them?"
"I have heard astronomers talk about gravitational waves being created when two black holes collide or when two ...
4
votes
1answer
147 views
Physics question wrongly put on hold as “engineering”
Can somebody please explain what this physics question (Is the strenght of the magnetic field the same across the surface of the magnet's pole?) has to do with engineering? Is physics not about ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Where to ask for a software recommendation about light refraction in a 3D media?
I'm want to simulate and visualize (render) how would light refract inside a glass mug with complex geometry. Since I'm quite sure I cannot code myself something like that, I would ask for a software ...
1
vote
2answers
295 views
What is the line between fiction and physics with respect to off-topic?
There is a question I believe to be well on topic, relevant, and interesting. It is asking to consider a fictional scenario and evaluate, as given in the fictional scenario, whether it is possible to ...
-9
votes
2answers
140 views
Should this really be put on hold?
Why are questions concerning the consistency of different parts of mainstream physics with one another considered as questions about non-mainstream physics and put on hold?
I asked a question about ...
22
votes
6answers
962 views
Is the demise of Stack Exchange (as we know it) ineluctable?
I feel concerned about a thought that I had recently.
I am wondering if the current policy about duplicate questions may become problematic in the (very) long term for the health of Stack Exchange.
...
-3
votes
1answer
157 views
What does conceptual mean?
I've told to come here by another user after my question was put on hold a few days ago for being "off-topic".
What does "conceptual" mean? It's a word I see floating around a lot on this site and it'...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
I need more light on the homework policy
Please, I need to know what is wrong if one posts their homework here and it is well formatted?
The actual thing is they might have tried solving before coming here in the case where they didn't ...
13
votes
2answers
308 views
Where to ask questions about teaching physics?
There is https://matheducators.stackexchange.com/, https://cseducators.stackexchange.com, and https://chemistry.stackexchange.com which is geared towards teachers.
Physics teachers seem to lack such ...
-1
votes
1answer
87 views
Are questions about the character or personality of famous Physicists on-topic?
I know from this question:
Should history of physics questions be on topic?
that questions about the history of Physics are considered on-topic, but what about questions about the character or ...
