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  1.  
    Can I ask physics questions onmathoverflow or is that looked down upon, example:
    'Can cosmological redshift be interpreted as purely kinematic in origin?'
  2.  

    Mathematical physics questions are acceptable to the extent that mathematicians think about physics. Otherwise, you should probably post physics questions at physics.stackexchange.com. To get an idea of what kinds of physics questions are acceptable, pick a mathematician with high reputation on MO who thinks about physics (like Theo Johnson-Freyd) and look at the kinds of physics questions they ask.

  3.  

    I'm not a moderator but I would guess that this would not be comprehensible to most mathematicians, and hence not "of interest to mathematicians". If you look at the questions tagged physics or mathematical-physics, they all strike me as written in much more mathematician friendly language.

    Questions about the mathematical end of physics do seem to be welcome when the mathematical question is clear. See this question of mine or this question of Gil's.

  4.  
    I think 'Can cosmological redshift be interpreted as purely kinematic in origin?' is definitely unsuitable on mathoverflow. It's a great question for somewhere else.
  5.  

    It's not so much that a question like that is "looked down upon;" it's just a big fat waste of your time to ask a bunch of mathematicians a question like that.

  6.  

    it's just a big fat waste of your time

    For me, this is the real answer, both for this and for homework questions. The best disincentive for such questions is to ensure they are a waste of time for the asker.