Responding to objections made by Sorin Coşofreţ concerning kinetic molecular theory: an illustration of how to teach physics students to evaluate pseudoscientific work

Abstract

Sorin Coşofreţ has argued that kinetic molecular theory does not correctly describe thermal equilibrium in ideal gases and has provided some examples that purportedly show that the standard laws imply consequences that contradict experimental results. This paper considers a few of the examples in detail and concludes that Coşofreţ's analysis is erroneous. Furthermore, although it does not disprove any of the other claims made by Coşofreţ in criticising thermodynamics and many other fields of physics, it does call his whole project into question, as Coşofreţ exhibits a lack of relevant training, limited knowledge of key facts and previous research, and a disposition to favour his own intuitions above theoretical and experimental checks. The exercise below illustrates some of the problems commonly encountered in pseudoscientific approaches, and provides a few tips on how to teach aspiring scientists about how to evaluate such works for themselves.