Research into the origins of engineering thermodynamics

This paper draws attention to a series of misconceptions and misstatements regarding the origin and meaning of some of the most basic concepts of engineering thermodynamics. The six examples exhibited in the paper relate to the concepts of reversibility, entropy, mechanical equivalent of the calorie, the first law of thermodynamics for open systems, enthalpy and the Diesel cycle. A complete list of the pioneering references concludes the paper.