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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Questions about (barely) hypothetical scenarios: on topic or not?
The question Would Portal-style portals transmit gravity? was recently migrated from scifi.SE. Some people think it's off topic, some people don't, and I can kind of see both sides so I'm not quite ...
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where should questions about questions asked at stack physics exchange be asked?
Where and how would I ask a question such as: "what do you consider to be the most profound question asked at stack.exchange.physics while you've been here?"
On the one hand I don't think it falls ...
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Should we allow philosophical / interpretational questions?
I've seen some rather philosophical or interpretational questions pop up lately. These questions tend to get closed very quickly. I'm wondering if this is neccessary, since such questions can have ...
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Is a shopping advice request off-topic in any case?
A question has arisen if shopping advice posts is off-topic and should be kept closed.
Examples:
Fairly Broad Spectrum Light Source Options
Refractive index liquids: Why hard to buy?
Where can I ...
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Are questions about obtaining a degree on-topic?
I have a question about obtaining a grad degree in the sciences and I was wondering if it fits on the site. It's not a physics questions per se, but I would consider it a question best asked of a ...
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Are these electronics-related questions on topic here?
There have been some arguments that the following two questions (and perhaps others like them) are off topic at this site, and perhaps should be migrated to electronics.SE. What does the community ...
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Should we allow questions about units and metrology?
In light of What is “International Service of Weights and Measures”?, I did a bit of searching for our policy on questions about units and measurement (metrology)... but I don't think we really have ...
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What should be sent to astronomy.stackexchange?
Obviously, there's a lot of overlap between physics and astronomy. It would be good to have some guidelines for what goes where now that the astronomy beta is live.
Example questions for discussion:
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Does the Area 51 proposal "Experimental or Applied Physics" duplicate this site?
A new Area 51 proposal "Experimental or Applied Physics" was recently created.
While I've looked at your FAQ, I don't know the field well enough to be comfortable making the call on my own—which ...
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Closed question
It is rather strange, that question https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/9993/the-unreasonable-effectiveness-of-mathematics-in-physics that practically reproduces title of talk of (future - 4 ...
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Are questions about general life on topic here?
Referring to this question in particular:
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/8312/is-a-work-life-balance-incompatible-with-becoming-an-international-scientist
According to experts, in ...
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Paper tearing and other practical questions: off topic or not?
Optimal technique to tear perforated paper along the perforation
Here we have a question which is considered to be off topic by some members of the community, but on topic by others (as evidenced by ...
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Specific homework questions - too localized to be of general interest?
Not yet another question on "level" but on "relevance"
Should we allow specific homework questions like e.g.
Homework about spinning top
I lost a factor of two in the electromagnetic field tensor
...
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"No math, please" questions
There are more and more questions, which are formulted like "Can you explain that without math?" or "I know that there is math, but is there an explanation in plain words?" or even "Can you tell ...
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Debunking cold fusion claims
I wonder if debunking of these claims falls within the scope of the site:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/01/24/1550205/Italian-Scientists-Demonstrate-Cold-Fusion
http://www.physorg.com/news/...
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Is asking for references OK?
Or should only substantive questions be allowed?
If not, is there another place to ask reference questions?
Actually, I would like to ask reference questions, so I will make this a feature-request,
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Should we allow questions asking the mathematical solution to physics problems?
An example question:
Solution for the Finite 2D Potential Well - Rotational Symmetry
It is being voted to close as off-topic. Reading the comments, that seems to be because it the physics is ...
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Are questions related to science fiction acceptable?
I want to ask a question about a phenomenon from a science fiction movie I saw recently. I looked for existing questions related to science fiction and found a wide range of feedback. For example, ...
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Should we allow questions regarding a specific physics journal?
I was thinking of asking a question not directly related to physics, but to a physics journal. Do you guys think these kind of questions should be allowed?
Examples:
Is there a .tex template for ...
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Are "How to..." questions for demos and try-this-at-home experiments on topic? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why not “home-experiment” questions?
A point brought to my mind by Evan's questions about shopping, is the place of demonstrations in our efforts here.
Demos are effective ...
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Should we allow ill-founded sensational questions [as found in newspapers]?
This has to do with this question
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/2079/is-superstring-theory-dead
I raised my main concerns in the comments there. To summarize:
the question as stated ...
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Should we repeat common questions?
This recent question on an infinite resistor grid is certainly interesting, but why should we include such questions on the site? The question has already been asked and answered many times on the ...
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Should We Allow Econophysics Questions?
My question on econophysics is closed for being 'off-topic'. But at this stage-- when there is no econophysics forum and the boundary of Physics SE is less defined and rigid-- it should not be closed. ...
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Does this question belong on this site?
The question Sonic boom equivalent for speed of light barrier seems to have provoked much debate in terms of whether this question is appropriate, in level and content, for this StackExchange site. ...
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Mathematical Physics: Does it Belong here?
Does mathematical physics questions belong here, or on math?
Say, for example, I wish to ask about Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems-- basically they are just the theorems and the solutions of ...
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Structural Dynamics Numerical Method Question: Does it Belong here?
I just wonder whether numerical solution to structural dynamic question belongs here, or belongs to Math SE?
An example of such a question would be: What is the stability of Newmark numerical method ...
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Are history of physics questions allowed?
I've been meaning to ask about the timeline of discovery of a certain physical phenomenon on the main site, but I thought I should probably ask a more general question here on meta to clear the air:
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What questions should be considered to close by 3000+ users? [closed]
As long as we don't have many hi-rep users, it is useful to have a place with list of candidates to close; at least it worked well on other betas.
Rules:
Add a link to the candidate for closure ...
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Where should research-level questions go? Theoretical Physics SE or Physics Research SE?
Among users of Physics SE there is a group of people who wants to have their 'Physicsoverflow', that is, a group oriented for research-level questions.
It is almost impossible to turn this SE into ...
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Level of questions: what do we do now ?
There has been a lot of discussions about the level of the questions and the quality of the questions.
It seems to me that we have a core group of users, that are following Physics SE from a long ...
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Specialized questions
Are specialized questions about some detail of a physics paper appropriate? (ie this)
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Are engineering questions OK?
What would be the real-world implications of the Kessler Syndrome? is essentially an engineering (applied physics) question. If we ignore the specifics of that question, should we accept applied ...
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Should we allow computational questions?
I'm wondering whether questions such as these should be considered appropriate on this site:
Mathematica to help for an Hamiltonian problem
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/107/conversion-...
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Astronomy/Astrophyiscs related question here? [duplicate]
I'm doing Astronomy as a GCSE (at high/secondary school) and the teacher often goes above the course, and we (the students) often ask above what the course requires. But because its a GCSE there's a ...
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Are "Puzzle" Questions Appropriate?
May I ask questions that I know the answer to, but are puzzles? For example, can I ask whether the level of water in a cup of ice water goes up or down while the ice melts? This is a standard ...
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Wikipedia like questions
My feeling is that we will have a lot of "Basic explanation of xxx [theory | principle | ..." questions.
What is your opinion about that ?
Mine is that we should not hesitate to point to wikipedia (...
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Can I ask several related questions in a single thread?
I have several physics questions, all of which are about the sloshing mode of water. Should I ask all the questions in a single thread, or create separate threads?
Return to FAQ index
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What to put in the FAQ (the "on-/off-topic" section)?
Half a section of the FAQ can be edited (just copied the image from math.SE):
It was recommended we just include the on- and off-topic stuff, e.g. copied from Super User:
Super User is for ...
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How basic is too basic?
My own daughter asked - only two days ago - "What is physics"? While that may be a little too simple - there's plenty of definitions easily available - how simple can (or should) we go on this site?
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