Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Physics/Archive April 2012
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Condensed matter physics
Hi,
I'm working on an overhaul of the Condensed matter physics article (top-importance for this project!). I'd like to get some feedback, and if possible, help with expansion on this article - as I fear it might become too biased towards my research interests. In particular, I'm looking for suggestions for what all should go into the "experimental" and "applications" sections.
Thanks, SPat talk 18:19, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
:See my query at Talk:Condensed matter physics#Electromagnetic Forces, and keep up the good work! --TSchwenn (talk) 20:44, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
OR at [[Dirac equation]] (still)
Hi, this is about HCPotter again. Recently he has been asking DVdm and me to restore his reference, our reply is "OR + primary source", and have pointed to him WP:NOR and WP:PRIMARY before, but seems to insist. I pointed him to here so he can explain himself. Thanks. F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 11:29, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
Physics AfD
It seems someone has decided to be disruptive and nominate Physics for deletion, see here Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Physics_(2nd_nomination)#Physics. IRWolfie- (talk) 16:04, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
:Seems it was an april fools joke of some sort. IRWolfie- (talk) 16:07, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
::Shouldn't have been done though - we aren't supposed to make jokes in article space. AndyTheGrump (talk) 16:09, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
:::That's what I thought as well. IRWolfie- (talk) 16:11, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
::::I was labeled genius on my talk page for reverting the AFD and templating the user. Neat. - DVdm (talk) 16:17, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
:::::An AfD nomination can't be stopped by just removing the template, as you see, a bot automatically re-added the template. An Admin will eventually close it. IRWolfie- (talk) 16:45, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
:::::Genius is what I say about the Google maps 'Quest' option for an 8-bit Nintendo version. Effin' eejit is what I say about people who just cause trouble for others. Dmcq (talk) 16:53, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
There's precedent: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Universe. The usual practice is for it to be closed as "speedy keep" on April 2nd. I particularly liked the "no independent sources" bit in that one. --Christopher Thomas (talk) 20:02, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
Stephen Hawking
The Stephan Hawking article has been put up for Peer review as part of a long-term plan to push it in the direction of FA. Thought you guys might like to comment :) Fayedizard (talk) 11:30, 22 February 2012 (UTC)
:Now at FAC :) Fayedizard (talk) 09:14, 1 March 2012 (UTC)
::... and so is the article about his more famous brother Stephen :) Gandalf61 (talk) 14:14, 1 March 2012 (UTC)gg
:::Yeah, him too... *blush* Fayedizard (talk) 12:04, 8 March 2012 (UTC)
It is still at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Stephen Hawking/archive1, and could benefit from review by members of WP:PHYSICS. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 19:59, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
:I'm very disappointed at the total lack of interest from this project. The FAC has been withdrawn pending furter development and improvement of the article. One of the major shortcommings discussed during the FAC was the lack of in depth coverage of Hawking's work - See Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Stephen Hawking/archive1. Members of this project are surely best equipped to contribute to this aspect of the article, please help get this article back to FAC. Roger (talk) 11:39, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
:: I reckon Stephen Hawking is some kind of celebrity in England. I am afraid though that the number of people who really know what he did is very limited. --93.73.19.163 (talk) 15:10, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
::It's a lot of work, getting an article to FA status, and quite frankly a big ask. Perhaps if you have some specific issues then members of the project would be happier to help out. Polyamorph (talk) 15:46, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
:::The article currently contains very little information about his work, probably because most of the recent editing has been led by WikiProject Disability. For specific issues please see the review discussion at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Stephen Hawking/archive1. (BTW I think calling him "some kind of celebrity in England" is a bit insulting - he is a Nobel Prize winner the recipient of many notable awards and accolades!) Roger (talk) 07:49, 7 April 2012 (UTC)
::::Frankly, I think he would only be an ordinary professor of general relativity rather than a celebrity were it not for the fact that he has managed to endure a disease which would have long since killed most people. JRSpriggs (talk) 19:26, 8 April 2012 (UTC)
:::::He wrote a very popular book about cosmology and other assorted topics. My non-scientist friends may not know much about his work, but they'll remember that he wrote that. Among the scientific community, my understanding is that Hawking radiation and his various other proofs related to black holes are what got him "rock star" status. There's a reason people keep comparing him to Einstein: while he's neither infallible nor unambiguously the best in his field, he's certainly _one of_ the best, and was savvy enough to spin that to get publicity among the wider public. Celebrity status seems justified under those circumstances. --Christopher Thomas (talk) 21:28, 8 April 2012 (UTC)
::::::Well... Look at this. I don't think his academic achievements alone explain that. His Wikipedia bio gets three times as many visits as Brian Cox's and eleven times as many as Neil deGrasse Tyson's or Brian May's, and sixteen times as many as Michio Kaku's, who are the only living people I found in the list before getting tired of looking. And honestly, on academic merits (incl. popular books) alone I don't think he deserves being much more famous than, say, Roger Penrose. (In Italy we have a similar{{spnd}}but even worse{{spnd}}situation with Antonino Zichichi, who's the first living physicist who springs in any non-physicist's mind, but he's out-and-out ridiculed by any other physicist I know. [People tell me “Wow, you're a physicist! Like Zichichi!” all the time believing they're complimenting me, and I feel compelled to stop to explain them they're actually insulting me.] At least Hawking is among the few dozen most academically important living physicists.) ― A. di M. 22:42, 8 April 2012 (UTC)
Fluctuation
Hi, guys.
I have recently created a physics wikiproject page in Ukranian wiki. You might wish to add it as an intewiki :uk:Вікіпедія:Проект:Фізика. And IMHO you have to make something about fluctuation page. You have Thermal fluctuations and Quantum fluctuations but that does not cover the field, for instance, fluctuations of composition are not there. And Quantum fluctuations IMHO does not meet high Wikipedia standards. Sorry for telling people what they should do. --93.73.19.163 (talk) 15:00, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
:Thanks for your comments. I was surprised to see that fluctuation was just a redirect to conjuncture. I have made it into a disambiguation page. I'm not sure that such disparate subjects should be combined in an article. If you have any specific ideas for Quantum fluctuation, you could discuss them on its talk page. RockMagnetist (talk) 16:33, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
Merge proposal
It has been proposed to merge Magnetic moment and Magnetic pole strength here. Any objections? =) F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 17:24, 7 April 2012 (UTC)
:Never mind. It has been blanked and re-directed to magnetic moment, as suggested on that talk page. Revert only if you really think its a mistake. F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 22:07, 7 April 2012 (UTC)
Single-purpose pusher of non-notable fringe
{{userlinks|SDLEECY}}
This user's sole activity here has been to promote the fringe ideas of one person and it seems highly likely SDLEECY either is that person or is intimately connected. Current problems are at Lorentz covariance, which could definitely benefit from attention for other reasons as well. Not that it should matter, but the fringe paper SDLEECY is fighting to include at the moment was [http://www.springerlink.com/content/n75016t23m661860/ convincingly debunked] in the same journal. Tim Shuba (talk) 04:00, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
Wikipedia:HighBeam
Wikipedia:HighBeam describes a limited opportunity for Wikipedia editors to have access to HighBeam Research.
—Wavelength (talk) 22:41, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
::Not sure of the relevance to this wikiproject. IRWolfie- (talk) 12:14, 7 April 2012 (UTC)
:::Academic journals on physics can provide source material for articles about physics.
:::—Wavelength (talk) 15:56, 7 April 2012 (UTC)
::::It's just that they appear to have a very limited supply of journals available which are also of low quality. [http://www.highbeam.com/publications/physics-journals-2061]. IRWolfie- (talk) 12:03, 8 April 2012 (UTC)
:::::but issues of Science ranging from 1983 to 2007 might be great [http://www.highbeam.com/publications/science-p5345] − MIRROR (talk) 18:42, 17 April 2012 (UTC)
Physicist uses math to beat traffic ticket
This incident might be notable enough for a Wikipedia article.
- [http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=4656335810518469535 Buzz Blog: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket]
—Wavelength (talk) 19:33, 15 April 2012 (UTC)
:No, I can't see that it's sufficiently notable.Polyamorph (talk) 20:10, 15 April 2012 (UTC)
::No, but very cool! :-) Sławomir Biały (talk) 20:16, 15 April 2012 (UTC)
:Look at the date in the left margin of the paper: [http://arxiv.org/pdf/1204.0162v1.pdf]. It's amazing that none of the blog commenters noticed it. Looks like Buzz Blog got pulled a leg. - DVdm (talk) 21:21, 15 April 2012 (UTC)
Yang–Mills existence and mass gap
What is arguably the least popular Millenium Question here on the wiki is slowly dying. I've been watching Yang–Mills existence and mass gap anonymously, and we desperately need a expert physicist to help. 1.170.216.93 (talk) 12:56, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
Merging [[Convection–diffusion equation]] + [[Smoluchowski equation]] + [[Generic scalar transport equation]]
Three articles about the same equation, I plan to merge them. Any comments / suggestions / objections can please go at Talk:Convection–diffusion equation. Thanks! --Steve (talk) 13:55, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
Possible linkspamming
Virtually all of the contributions of new user {{user|Astrohap}} involve adding links to a specific physics organization, which they've also created a page about (via AfC, which tends to rubber-stamp things). This could be legitimate, or it could be well-meant but not sufficiently notable, or it could be linkspam. If someone with more knowledge of Europe's physics organizations could vet the contributions, that would be handy. --Christopher Thomas (talk) 16:39, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
Lorentz force velocimetry
I just patrolled Lorentz force velocimetry, and I couldn't find any secondary sources about it, though primary sources obviously exist and are listed in the article. Does this deserve to be kept? And if not, is there a suitable merge target that anyone might be aware of? I would appreciate advice from people who know their physics. Best — Mr. Stradivarius ♫ 00:34, 19 April 2012 (UTC)
Merge help requested - Clearing factor
Could someone who knows Physics please either merge Clearing factor with K-factor (centrifugation) or delete the merge tags? Thanks, D O N D E groovily Talk to me 01:13, 19 April 2012 (UTC)
:Done. RockMagnetist (talk) 02:16, 19 April 2012 (UTC)
Plasma cosmology linking
User {{user|Aarghdvaark}} has been adding links to Plasma cosmology to several astronomy-related articles. Vetting of the additions would be handy, as I feel that in most cases this gives undue weight to the model. I'm not prepared to put in the time required myself (on semi-sabbatical).
Be warned that plasma cosmology has come up at arbcom in the past (it was one of the main dispute areas that prompted WP:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience, per the "findings of fact" heading on that page). So, there's a nonzero chance of spirited debate occurring. --Christopher Thomas (talk)
:This post was cross-posted. The discussion is taking place on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Astronomy#Plasma cosmology linking. Please don't post anything here. Aarghdvaark (talk) 02:44, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
Merge [[Hamilton's principle]] and [[Principle of least action]]
This was also proposed by JRSpriggs way back in 2007, and it has not even happened all this time. I plan to just do it since they are only two different titles for the same thing (assuming no objections...hopefully not). F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 15:26, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
:Actually there is no reason to wait, nor should there be any objections. Two articles about the same principle? Pointless... Principle of least action will be moved to the correct name Principle of stationary action leaving a redirect behind "least action", and Hamilton's principle will be transferred to this moved article leaving a redirect there also. And I'll try not to leave behind so many spelling errors/maths typos also (honestly I try, yet fail chaotically, even with a spelling checker...) Here I go... F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 15:51, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
::I should also add - there is an under-developed article Analytical mechanics which can be used as a qualitative description and summary of the principle and its relations to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics etc... leaving the mathematical details to the main articles.F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 16:20, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
:::The merge is basically done. All thats needed is to clean up, I'm in the process of that now. And yes there was no move since the edit history would be lost. F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 17:30, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
::::There are quite some references stating that Hamilton's principle is a form of the principle of least action, so they are not identical. Maupertuis' principle is another principle of least action. -- Crowsnest (talk) 21:08, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
:::::Now I suppose you all like the merge to be undone (which is easily possible using the undo buttons in the edit history). Shall I change it back now? F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 21:44, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
::::::On second thought I feel extremely bad and stupid for doing this: the older versions were probably better than now and I have spectacularly spoiled the culminated hard work of past editors who made Principle of least action a historical masterpiece, and Hamilton's principle mathematical and specific... I'll revert back to the separate articles (but will keep the bits of clean up from Hamilton's principle that were transferred to Principle of least action). Apologies for messing things around... anyone can merge/move/revert my changes/do what they like from there and I'll leave them alone (well except for occasional edits perhaps...). F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 19:15, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
::::::::It's really not a big deal. Everyone makes mistakes. (Allegedly, even Dirac did from time to time.) :-) Sławomir Biały (talk) 20:25, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
::::::::: Yea... Thanks for your kind comment. =) F = q(E+v×B) ⇄ ∑ici 21:30, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
::::::::No bad feelings needed. The merge proposal was there for 5 years and nobody had objections beforehand. And, on the positive side, it points out that these articles are missing clear information (incl. refs) on their relationship to each other. So there are possible improvements to be made on these articles. -- Crowsnest (talk) 12:41, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
Request for comment at [[Talk:Wavelength]]
There is a discussion posted at this RfC concerning the article Wavelength. The question at issue is whether it is an undue elaboration to add a few sentences to Wavelength pointing out the connection of the wavelength of a spatially periodic function to its Fourier series. Please take a look. Brews ohare (talk) 15:27, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
Big Bang RfC (Part II)
The latest RfC (administratively closed on 18 March) confirmed that there should be a presence of a brief "religious and philosophical implications" section in the Big Bang article. Which draft should be selected to appear in the section? Please participate in the RfC if you feel called to do so. With regards, AnupamTalk 00:09, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
[[Quantum Bayesianism]]
Would appreciate any knowledgeable Project members taking a look at this newly-created article. The one reference [http://www.jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/189] from "Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research "- I find the source somewhat troubling and am not sure it is a reliable source. Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 04:11, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
I'm not going to look at this article, as I would prefer it remain in a superposition of deleted and not deleted.-Dilaton (talk) 18:36, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
:I've put it up for speedy, it looks like a promotion of some unnotable work. That it's marked as being in "the early stages of development" is a strong indicator that the article is purely promotional. IRWolfie- (talk) 20:57, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
::Hi. I did not write this purely promotionally. I am not involved with its development at all. It has been developed for the last decade and is taught in physics courses(see removed reference). Relative to other theories, it is new. What criteria is needed for speedy deletion and how does this article meet them?129.2.129.220 (talk) 23:53, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
:::Deletion discussions usually focus on "criteria for keeping", rather than "criteria for deletion." The most relevant of these are the reliable sourcing policy (WP:RS) and the notabilty guideline (WP:N).
:::Speedy deletion is a different process, intended to delete pages that are clearly of no merit without going through the usual deletion-discussion process. The criteria for speedy deletion are at WP:SPEEDY. If you believe that the article was tagged for speedy deletion inappropriately, the correct thing to do is to put a
:Speedy was declined, I've put it up for AfD as being an interpretation with no significant following and no real coverage in RS. IRWolfie- (talk) 09:52, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
It seems the article is slowly filling up with primary sources and needs some serious copyediting if anyone is interested. IRWolfie- (talk) 09:21, 30 April 2012 (UTC)
Text on calculating electron chemical potential within density functional theory
I'm in the process of deleting some text with mathematical details about how to calculate electron chemical potential within DFT. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chemical_potential&oldid=489446783#Electronic_chemical_potential It is this section here]. It is too specialized to keep within the general chemical potential article. If someone knows a good home for it, please feel free to put it there. (I'm also putting this note at Talk:Density functional theory.) Thanks! --Steve (talk) 14:13, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
:I think this should be discussed at Talk:chemical potential, not here, but I see it has already been changed. --Bduke (Discussion) 02:11, 28 April 2012 (UTC)