To_The_Top Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 THE 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, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion you will go to Hell. Since there is 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 an affair with her, then #2 above cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze over. THE STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minx Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 an oldie but a goodie! i love this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whirlwind Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 shit that diserves extra credit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDoolittle Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 ONE! MORE!! TIME!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 funny. a poorly constrained problem to say the least, but nothing that can't be handled with the help of judiciously unsupported assumptions (what's the mass of a soul?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunglehead Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 21 grams?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottP Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 what's the mass of a soul? Platform or pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willstrickland Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Boy, that fucker transferred alot, they gave him that same exam at MIT, Cal Tech, Yale, Stanford.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracked Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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