Guest guest Posted November 23, 1999 Report Share Posted November 23, 1999 i enjoyed this and hope you all do too! >The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington >Chemistry mid-term. The answer was so " profound " that the professor shared it >with his colleagues, which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying in 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 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, let's 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 then 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 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 my 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, it cannot be true, and thus I am sure >that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze. >The student received the only " A " given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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