Questions tagged [scope]
For discussions about the site's scope - what questions and topics should and should not be on-topic on the site.
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Why are people working on this site when not paid anything?
When this site is not giving practically any benefit of money, job or career to members, why are people working here?
Mostly jumping to close a question or block a user.
Many a times the answers given ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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Where is a statement of the purpose of physics.stackexchange?
Where is a statement of the purpose of physics.stackexchange?
user325561
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Is the purpose of physics.stackexchange to teach or to provide a stage?
I question the purpose of some Internet websites which include the present. As a now returning student of physics, admittedly with slower or less remembered skills, I find that the answers offered ...
user325561
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Is a "how should these experimental results be interpreted?" question admissible?
I can't remember seeing posts about the interpretation of experimental results on SE, so I am not sure whether such a question is SE-legitimate. Concretely, after reading some rather old and largely ...
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Measurement of mass increase doesn't concern physics. Really?
This question has been closed:
How was mass increase measured?
because:
I’m voting to close this question because it concerns the history of physics – Bob D
and then:
Closed. This question is off-...
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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 ...
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Are future physics discoveries properly categorized as mainstream or not? [closed]
"Non-mainstream" physics is often equated to fallacies and fringe theories, including on this forum. Mainstream physics is rigorously categorized in specific historical scientific contexts, ...
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Why was this entanglement-harvesting question closed as off-topic?
I just noticed that the question
What happens to the vacuum when entanglement is harvested?
was closed as off-topic a couple of months ago, and I don't understand why. The topic is basic quantum ...
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Should we take the terminology an asker might be unfamiliar with into consideration when it comes to expectations for research effort?
The reason I would suggest that an askers knowledge of terminology should be taken into consideration is that if by research effort we mean looking something up on the internet before asking a ...
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Would original posts meant to share knowledge instead of ask questions be on topic on the site?
For a long time the way I tended to see the Schrödinger equation written, some of the notation was like a foreign language to me, and so I couldn't work out how to actually use it to model anything, ...
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How is this question about a black hole passing through the solar system non-mainstream?
A question of mine was closed on the grounds of being non-mainstream. Mainstream is defined below:
Mainstream physics is physics which has been accepted by a significant portion of the physics ...
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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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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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I think that this question is not off-topic
The following question has been closed because it is off-topic:
An approximation for path integral kernels
However, I'm presenting a new idea in that post: Set N=2 in the formula of the path integral ...
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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 ...
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Soft-question or off-topic question?
Where is the boundary between a soft-question and an off-topic question?
The issue has come up in connection to question Does physics explain why the laws and behaviors observed in biology are as they ...
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Why is it so difficult to apply the site policy consistently for opinion-based questions?
I already noticed a certain number of times that some questions have been closed based on the policy for "opinion-based" questions. Reading the rationale for that policy, I find:
Many good ...
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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 ...
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Folks, we need to talk about the surface-area-of-a-chicken question
This question
How do I find the approximate surface area of a chicken?
underwent a severe close/reopen yo-yo cycle. It was closed once by a moderator, then reopened by community members, then re-...
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"State of research" questions
Are questions asking for what the current research topics in a certain field allowed? Under what circumstance would they be? In case they are allowed, after how much time would it be allowed to ask ...
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Textbook questions
There seems to be quite a lot of questions that demand for textbook answers. These are technically not homework questions - i.e., they are not asking for solutions to problems - but grounded in not ...
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What Limiting Standards should be applied to a Speculative Idea?
What kind of criteria would make a speculative question of sorts a well-founded question? A possible rough draft would be:
Clearly display some honest work on the question
Question overlapping ...
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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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Why was this question on fiber switches closed?
Yesterday the question How do non-mechanical solid-state optical switches work? was closed as off-topic. I don't quite understand why, as questions about physics lab equipment are considered on-topic. ...
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My question is "engineering" but
My question: What is the ideal gap between two panes of glass for insulation?
According to this: Are engineering questions appropriate for this site?
When constructing a product for use in the world, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Why would someone think this question NOT mainstream physics?
I've asked a question that's mostly about optics with a little touch of thermodynamics to it: Can you use an invisibility shield to insulate from infrared radiation?
But I'm getting 2 close votes to ...
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Should we leave technical astronomy questions to Astronomy SE?
In 2012, when the first incarnation of Astronomy SE closed, the community at Physics SE felt compelled to give a home to astronomy questions and overwhelmingly voted to expand the scope of the site.
...
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May I ask questions about physics lab equipments?
I'm looking for a specific lab equipment, but I don't know the exact English words to describe it, so my searches are useless. To give an idea, I'm interested in a gyroscope with gimbals and a motor ...
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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 ...
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Can we restrict what kinds of identification questions are on topic?
Recently there was a significant discussion about whether a question on the main site should be on topic. I very strongly believe that it is not a good question for the site and should not be on topic ...
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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 ...
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Is "here a problem and my solution with my reasoning for each step, where has my reasoning gone wrong?" question considered off-topic? [duplicate]
I specifically used the formulation in the title from here, the only place I found to deal with this. But I do not know, what to take from it.
To elaborate:
This question arose from comments on this ...
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Is asking how to derive an expression in a paper on topic here?
Is asking how to derive an expression in a paper on topic here?
If not where should I ask?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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