Why don't we have Physics challenges in PF?

[MathematicalPhysicist]

I see a Math challenge, but why don't we have a Physics challenge in physicsforums?

 

[DrClaude]

I see a Math challenge, but why don't we have a Physics challenge in physicsforums?

Good idea. Want to do it?

These challenges take quite a bit of work and we are grateful to @fresh_42 for handling the math challenges. We have no one willing and able to do it for physics.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Good idea. Want to do it?

Always wanted a physics version! We just need a few volunteers to head it.

 

[Keith_McClary]

The physics in my EM text is contained in one equation. All the rest is math.

 

[etotheipi]

I don't know, if this would work, but one way of running it would be to have some way for members to submit individual questions [don't know a mechanism for this, at the moment] whenever they feel like it, along with some label of 'difficulty', and then from that question bank someone can collate a few of them every month or so into a challenge thread.

Of course, the questions might be less consistent or vary in quality, and if there's a lack of interest we could easily run out of questions, but it's an alternative to making only one or two people spend a lot of time putting it together every month.

 

[Tom.G]

That sounds just like what PF already is!
Or are you looking for some sort of 'Reward' mechanism?

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Good idea. Want to do it?

These challenges take quite a bit of work and we are grateful to @fresh_42 for handling the math challenges. We have no one willing and able to do it for physics.

Does @fresh_42 look at problems from books and articles or does he "cook" the problems from his head?
I can try giving problems from Schutz's or Zweibach's which I don't have solutions to, but I can see them go either way to HW or as a challenge. There are also questions of terryw in advanced physics from MTW's book which no one solved as of yet.

I can try to compile a list of such problems, do the problems need to be original, i.e not taken from any book,article, etc?

 

[fresh_42]

I often try to pose math questions which are close to physics; things like Noether, Lotka-Volterra, differential geometry, fluid dynamics etc. But it's primarily the mathematicians who answer those, if at all.

 

[fresh_42]

Does @fresh_42 look at problems from books and articles or does he "cook" the problems from his head?

Cooking sounds easier than it actually is. I mainly take questions from exams, because I want to add more value to the questions than just some sophisticated puzzles. They could probably be found by some Google searches, but I take German exams .

I had some cooked ones, too, but it is difficult to close all possible loopholes, and or to find interesting subjects.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Cooking sounds easier than it actually is. I mainly take questions from exams, because I want to add more value to the questions than just some sophisticated puzzles. They could probably be found by some Google searches, but I take German exams .

I had some cooked ones, too, but it is difficult to close all possible loopholes, and or to find interesting subjects.

Well I can post questions from my exams in QFT II, I guess you can search them in the web; I myself would like to know their solutions...

 

[Office_Shredder]

I think a carefully curated set of problems from a textbook that are the most interesting would be a valuable resource in and of itself.

 

[Hamiltonian]

so is this happening or not?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

so is this happening or not?

We need someone to lead it.

 

[etotheipi]

Could be fun to have a physics problem-of-the-day type of thing. Instead of writing original questions they could just be vaguely interesting ones collated from different textbooks or problem books, and people could chip in with comments or solutions.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I think @Dale was recently investigating opportunities

 

[Dale]

Yes, I got some good advice from @fresh_42 I have to consider if I have the bandwidth. I like the idea, but I don’t want to do a haphazard job

 

[fresh_42]

Such a problem of the day would at least solve the main problem with physics challenges. This is:
If we do not have a clear true - false situation or a mathematical calculation, then any physics question is likely a more or less long description of a kind of experiment. I predict that an inevitable implication will be an annoying discussion about understanding, details, which laws should be applied, etc. The reason is, that other than in a real exam or tutorial, we have no natural authority. An actual exercise is as it is, nobody will question what the professor wrote or posed. This is different here. People discuss, question, and doubt everything all the time. A short glimpse into the QM Interpretation forum will show what I mean. Math is easier in this respect.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Such a problem of the day would at least solve the main problem with physics challenges. This is:
If we do not have a clear true - false situation or a mathematical calculation, then any physics question is likely a more or less long description of a kind of experiment. I predict that an inevitable implication will be an annoying discussion about understanding, details, which laws should be applied, etc. The reason is, that other than in a real exam or tutorial, we have no natural authority. An actual exercise is as it is, nobody will question what the professor wrote or posed. This is different here. People discuss, question, and doubt everything all the time. A short glimpse into the QM Interpretation forum will show what I mean. Math is easier in this respect.

Yes, it does seem a bit of hard to have a physics monthly problem challenge.

And I don't have the time for it, unfortunately.
But perhaps we can discuss problem/s from books such as Grenoble's Hamiltonian and Lagrangian dynamics, it's quite advanced book on classical mechanics.