Heather,

That is a good one!

On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 1:42 PM, Heather Beaudry
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Chemistry in Hell
> The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington
> chemistry midterm. The answer was so "profound" that the professor shared it
> with colleagues, which is 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 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. Of course, 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 Ms. Teresa Banyan
> 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.
>
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-- 


Kendall

An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

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