patboivin Posted January 31, 2001 Share Posted January 31, 2001 Someone sent me this: Here's a little thing to amuse you: THERMODYNAMICS OF HELL The following is an actual 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 that exist in the world today. 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 all 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 because Boyle's Law states that 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 sleep with you.", and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted January 31, 2001 Share Posted January 31, 2001 Last year, I managed to prove that my high school was actually hell. I had been on a two hour bus ride to school. The roads were covered with six inches of water-covered ice, the slickest substance known to man. My hands were cut up from putting chains on the school bus, and the world was still swerving around even after the bus ride ended. My logic went something like this: The Chiniak road was clearly the road to Hell. It had been paved, or rather gravelled, with good intentions (an airstrip and bunkers at the end to defend against a Japanese invasion during WWII.) As far as I was concerned, the road only led to the school and my house, I had nowhere else to go. Therefore, Hell must be one of the two destinations. It couldn't be my house, as my computer was there. Therefore, Kodiak High School was hell, which incidentally explained the personality of my English teacher. There was a third possiblility, that the road itself was hell. This seemed likely, especially when the bus did a few accidential donuts, except that the road was frozen over with a thick layer of glare ice. My dad had told me that he would pay for my college when hell froze over. As I have to go fishing every summer to pay for college, hell has clearly not frozen over, and could not be the road. Any disputes over my logic? ------------------ Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. -Commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska [This message has been edited by 109 Gustav (edited 01-31-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted January 31, 2001 Share Posted January 31, 2001 Interesting but I would really to start seeing people take off topic threads like this into the General Forum. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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