The Guardian article Fuel’s paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head describes an invention by Dr. Randell Mills which would appear to violate currently accepted quantum theory. It is claimed that some independent scientists have verified Dr. Mill’s experiments, but apparently detailed information is not yet available for public review.
The article quotes Jan Naudts, a theoretical physicist at the University of Antwerp as saying “I don’t think [Mills's] theory should be supported”. This demonstrates a surprising lack of understanding as to how science works. Certainly it is correct to be skeptical of new theories. But it is not up to physicists to choose what theories to “support”, based on personal preference or on how well established the earlier theories are. Rather, it is a matter of what the physical evidence supports.
When other physicists have enough information on Dr. Mills’ work that they can attempt to reproduce it, then they can determine whether Dr. Mills’ theory has supporting evidence. If it does, that will not immediately repudiate the accepted quantum theory, but it would certainly cast doubt upon it, and lead to more research.
Should new physics theories be “supported”?
The Guardian article Fuel’s paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head describes an invention by Dr. Randell Mills which would appear to violate currently accepted quantum theory. It is claimed that some independent scientists have verified Dr. Mill’s experiments, but apparently detailed information is not yet available for public review.
The article quotes Jan Naudts, a theoretical physicist at the University of Antwerp as saying “I don’t think [Mills's] theory should be supported”. This demonstrates a surprising lack of understanding as to how science works. Certainly it is correct to be skeptical of new theories. But it is not up to physicists to choose what theories to “support”, based on personal preference or on how well established the earlier theories are. Rather, it is a matter of what the physical evidence supports.
When other physicists have enough information on Dr. Mills’ work that they can attempt to reproduce it, then they can determine whether Dr. Mills’ theory has supporting evidence. If it does, that will not immediately repudiate the accepted quantum theory, but it would certainly cast doubt upon it, and lead to more research.