Can questions asking for the distinction between two engineering phenomenon be on-topic?

Question

I'm new here, so I thought I would double check. I've just asked the question How to explain why the statement “Cavitation is boiling,” in an answer is not really correct. Obviously the question does not have a numerical answer, my problem is how to understand and eventually explain why cavitation and boiling are not the same thing in the context of engineering.

I've made an attempt to understand the difference in this answer but I have asked here because I have a hunch there are people here who understand these phenomenon better than I do.

Can my question here be considered on-topic as written?

Answer 1

Sure, it's on topic. Trying to enforce a rigid distinction between theoretical and applied science is a can of worms that I don't think we want to open. Sometimes we explain things that could also be explained on Physics SE but the perspective tends to be a bit different; that's a normal part of the overlap between sites.

That doesn't mean people should start randomly selecting pairs of concepts and asking us to explain how they differ, but if it's non-trivial to distinguish between two concepts, we have an established history of trying to explain them.

If you're worried about one close vote, I think your concern might be a bit premature.