Questions tagged [scope]
Defining what is on- and off-topic for the site
1
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1answer
44 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
186 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 ...
-10
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2answers
113 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
864 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.
...
-4
votes
1answer
138 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'...
1
vote
1answer
66 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 ...
12
votes
2answers
270 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
80 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
Is a question about calculators in SI format according to “what topics can I ask about here”?
I put the following question (10k-only link) and immediately received down-vote, thus, deleted it. Could be question is off-topic, could be someone is happy trigger of down-votes.
Yes, I known is a ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
Is my question off topic? If not, how to get more attention?
I recently asked this question regarding simulation of Diffuse Interstellar Bands for molecules.
So far it had only 12 views and any interaction, is it off topic? If not, How do I get more attention?
2
votes
2answers
115 views
Notify users when homework-and-exercises posts are found acceptable for answering
Could this site somehow let contributors know if a homework and exercise question has been reviewed and found acceptable for answering? Right now we only know when a question is found to be ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
Which physics SE questions should be redirected to Worldbuilding SE?
Worldbuilding SE looks like a pretty active place. They have a 'physics' tag, a 'science-based' tag, and a hard-science tag, and many of the people who frequent the site also have reasonably active ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Is my question in the wrong place?
How much degenerate matter is there, compared to other states of matter? hasn't had any replies. I'm thinking about starting a bounty on it, but maybe it would be more appropriate in Chemistry or ...
5
votes
1answer
230 views
Engineering, what does Phys.SE deem as not Physics?
Right so I posted a question about something (not really important because the response is the important part).
One of my responses (who I believe flagged the article) complained that it was not ...
6
votes
1answer
255 views
On-topic answers for seemingly off-topic questions
I was thinking about the recent question "Why is making a white laser so difficult?"
A couple of days back (when I first saw it) if I recall correctly, I left my usual off-topic-because-it's-...
3
votes
2answers
77 views
Pedagogical questions about physics
Sparked by the discussion in the comments in the question How to teach modeling physical systems, especially if it is off-topic, I started looking for pedagogical questions about physics. I didn't ...
24
votes
3answers
552 views
Users that post every question in their homework/exams
Everybody who's been here for a while knows that the homework policy is not as advertised.
If the exercise is sufficiently interesting, and the OP is sufficiently polite, the question often stays ...
-5
votes
1answer
63 views
Is it possible to add a discussion tag?
I have some pretty good thought experiments that I would like to share with the physics community here (I'm sure others have them too), but I can't find a way to phrase them as questions.
I've read ...
4
votes
1answer
275 views
Answering own question: “work” of the question in own answer
After reading the links provided by the mods in a question I recently posted with an answer, I believe that my question conforms in spirit the criteria that the moderators have tried to infuse in our ...
-14
votes
1answer
110 views
Can we reduce the scientific terms?
Well I think Its my personal problem .When ask a question its answers are in scientific terms and I was unable to understand it . Can you reduce the scientific terms,? and I know it is little bit ...
3
votes
1answer
62 views
Why was this question migrated
Why was this question migrated back to the EE forum.
Granted it is about an electronics device, but the atomic level behaviour of the seimiconductor junction is definitely a physics question.
I ...
11
votes
4answers
304 views
Rethinking the “too broad” criterion
I was sad this morning to see Gil Kalai's great question about the role of rigor closed for being too broad. I was even sadder this afternoon when Prof. Kalai's narrower follow-up question, was also ...
4
votes
2answers
194 views
Is PSE the place to ask for clarification on scientific talks?
I've been watching a talk about physics by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy and I was left with some questions that were not addressed in the talk's Q&A session. Is it appropriate to ask those ...
3
votes
1answer
102 views
Are questions about derivations in papers published in scientific journals, on-topic?
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question but If I have a specific question about a derivation step in a paper published in Physical Review A, for example. Can I ask it here?
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Is there a StackExchange place where I can ask questions about non-mainstream physics?
I have some ideas about sub-quarks and sub-leptons and the structure of them. I can't ask this question on the PhysicsStackExchange place because the only questions you can ask there are about ...
2
votes
0answers
38 views
Having trouble understanding how to stay on topic
I have a question about my Physics Stack Exchange post: What governs the temperature rise inside an oven?
I find myself frustrated with how questions need to be asked... and the pit of 'On Hold / ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
Is new physics a bad fit for Stack Exchange?
My interest is in new physics, from the point of view of propulsion, and experiments that can confirm or disprove related new hypotheses. New physics attracts people who want to casually speculate and ...
2
votes
2answers
89 views
Where exactly lies the line between physics and philosophy/meta physics?
I understand that the physics stack exchange community wants to see physics questions, not philosophical questions about things that are certainly unattainable. My question here is where you exactly ...
6
votes
2answers
278 views
Does the community welcome engineering physics questions?
Does the community welcome engineering physics question?
e.g.
How to build an AOM driver with a DDS board?
What is an Evaluation Board?
How to using AD9915 chips to build a ~400 MHz AOM driver?
3
votes
1answer
67 views
Does this question belong in stack exchange physics or philosophy?
I recently had a question which I wasn't sure if this would be the correct site for as it seemed too speculative. But by the time I completed it, it seemed, more concrete than I'd imagined. I would ...
3
votes
4answers
144 views
Did my question deserve a hold?
Background: I've been using several SE sites for several years now. I am used to their systems and strict rules, respect them, and try to obey as much as possible. However I do not understand this on-...
1
vote
1answer
143 views
Overly abstract?
This question and prose contained in Experiments are monads (I think), but are they comonads too?
admittedly sounds like word salad to me, but unlike other theory questions over my head this doesn't ...
6
votes
2answers
176 views
Should questions about the first use of a notation be on topic?
There's been some disagreement on the topicality of "Where do Feynman Diagrams Appear for the first time?", so I wanted to bring the issue to meta to get input from the community. It could be ...
2
votes
2answers
109 views
Is this legal to post my physics question here for verification only but not for answer?
Is this legal to post my physics question here for verification only but not for answer?
I just want to make sure that my question is on-topic, not off-topic, and fits the rules, like it's not too ...
-7
votes
2answers
115 views
Physics Stackexchange rules?
From help pages:
"If your motivation for asking the question is “I would like to participate in a discussion about ______”, then you should not be asking here. However, if your motivation is “I ...
2
votes
2answers
66 views
Lab journal best practices - on topic?
I had a question about best practices for keeping a lab journal (specifically, should one only record experiments, or should one also include research for experiments, or time spent looking around on ...
2
votes
1answer
77 views
Remind users to do basic research before asking questions
While any of us can need an explanation of some concept we need to get clear in our minds and can't quite grasp, it does seem sometimes that even the most basic step is sometimes lacking.
Could/...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
Any checks for possible nefarious use? [duplicate]
Not that I'm suggesting censorship, but are there any checks in the Physics Stack Exchange system that exclude questions seeking answers that might be used for evil or destructive purposes?
I suppose ...
4
votes
3answers
539 views
May I ask a question about philosophy of physics?
Is it permitted or not or frowned upon?
I couldn't find a tag for it.
But I hope you'd rather see discussions about "what is physics?" and "falsifiability" (and some of the stuff that Smolin ...
6
votes
2answers
299 views
Are the implications of magic on-topic?
I was about to post a question here, but felt unsure if it was topical here, or if I should post on World-Building instead.
In a nutshell, my question has a premise that something magical (and ...
3
votes
0answers
116 views
Leeway in deviating from goals of this site
This post is the second post of a series; the first can be found here and the post that inspired this series of questions can be found here.
How much freedom are we willing to grant users in ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
Could StackExchange serve as a resource for the physics subject GRE?
I recently went trough the marginally pleasant experience of having to take both the general and the physics subject GRE tests in order to apply to graduate programs in the US.
I prepared exclusively ...
-6
votes
1answer
146 views
Homework policy
My main issue with how the site deals with 'homework questions' is about assumptions. I am an A level physics student and I never ask homework questions on this site. However I will ask questions ...
4
votes
0answers
126 views
Math and engineering questions: where do we draw the line?
I was reading through some old meta discussions recently, and I was interested in some of the points made, but they never quite seemed to be implemented or discussed further. They also seemed to be ...
2
votes
3answers
89 views
Is Minecraft On-Topic?
Long question short: Changing Minecraft's Gravity via Code: StackOverflow, Math, Physics, or SciFi&Fantasy?
Actual Question:
Premise:
So, some quick background on the question I want to answer....
9
votes
7answers
208 views
Why are these off-topic questions off topic?
Today I've seen a bunch of examples on the site of a certain type of question. In order to avoid priming responses, I'm not going to give this type of question a name. Instead, let me show by example ...
-6
votes
2answers
286 views
Can moderator or user with high reputation be held to the rules?
I keep getting down voted instantly and as a quick as I flagged my last question it got denied without reason. Can moderator or a user with privileges be kicked for down voting to much? Is there a way ...
23
votes
6answers
1k views
What are the goals of this site?
This discussion question is inspired by this post on the current homework policy question. The main question is
What are the goals of this site?
Some things to think about when answering:
What is ...
3
votes
0answers
94 views
How does a simple question get put hold for being unclear?
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/277688/space-elevator-solved
I don't understand what is unclear about this question?
14
votes
6answers
670 views
Replacing the homework policy 1b: what is our scope anyway?
Abstract: Analyzing the data from the last replace-the-homework-policy question was inconclusive. So back to the drawing board, or really back to our starting point: what kinds of questions do we ...
