[i]I don't know what you believe about hell. Personally, I believe what the Bible says, cause I've seen it proven true too many times to doubt it here.
For the rest of you, you can just enjoy the irony of this one. [/i]
THERMODYNAMICS of HELL
>
> The following is an actual exam question given on a University of
> Washington chemistry mid term. The answer by
> one student was so "profound" that the
> professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of
> course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying
> it as well.
>
> Bonus Question:
> Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
>
> Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law,
> (gas cools off when it expands and heats up
> when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the
> following:
>
> "First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time.
>
> So we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate
> they are leaving.
>
> I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will
> not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
>
> As for how many souls are entering Hell, lets look at the different
> religions.
>
> Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their
> religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are
> more than one of these religions and since
> people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that most
> souls go to Hell.
>
> With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls
> in Hell to increase exponentially.
>
> Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell. Boyle's Law
> states, in order for the temperature and
> pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of
> Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
>
> This gives two possibilities:
>
> 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls
> enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure
> in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
>
> 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in
> Hell, then the temperature and pressure will
> drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it?
>
> If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year,
> ". . that it will be a cold day in Hell
> before I go out with you." and ... take into account the fact that I still
> have not succeeded in having that event
> take place, then, #2 cannot be true, and thus I! am sure that Hell is
> exothermic and will not freeze."
> !
>
> ** The student received the only "A" given.
>