Is Hell Endothermic or Exothermic

[Primus]

Found this whilst trawling the web this morning. Interesting mix of religion, chemistry and a bit of humour.



"Dr. Schlambaugh, a senior lecturer at the Chemical Engineering
Department,University of Oklahoma, is known for posing questions on
final exams like: "Why do airplanes fly?"

In May a few years ago, the "Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer " exam
paper contained the question:

"Is Hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with proof."

Most students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law or
similar. One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we must postulate that if souls exist, they must have some mass.
If they do, then a mole of souls also must have a mass. So, at what rate
are souls moving into hell and at what rate are souls leaving? I think
we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it does not leave.
Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for souls entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that
exist in the world today. Some religions say 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 people do not belong to more than one
religion, we can project that all people and all souls go to Hell. With
the birth and death rates what they are, we can expect the number of
souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of
change in the volume of Hell. Boyle's Law states that in order for the
temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the ratio of the mass
of the souls and volume needs to stay constant.

[Answer 1] So, if Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at
which souls enter Hell, then the temperature in Hell will increase until
all Hell breaks loose.

[Answer 2] Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the
increase in 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 Banyan
during freshman year) that "it'll be a cold day in Hell before I sleep
with you", and taking into account that I still have not succeeded in
having sexual relations with her, then [Answer 2] cannot be correct;
...... thus, Hell is exothermic.

The student got the only A"

[H3LL]

I heard that heaven is hotter than hell (http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/fun/heaven/).

Brimstone (Sulphur) melts at 115.21°C so wouldn't Hell "freeze" at ~115°C?

While we are applying sense to imaginary places/things could we find the height of fairies?

:D
.

[Francesca R]

While we are applying sense to imaginary places/things could we find the height of fairies?
The height of fairies was not always as consistent as is held to be the case today. Traditionally, fairies were often of human height or taller.

http://www.indopedia.org/Fairy.html

[H3LL]

The height of fairies was not always as consistent as is held to be the case today. Traditionally, fairies were often of human height or taller.
http://www.indopedia.org/Fairy.html (http://www.indopedia.org/Fairy.html)

The Bondage Fairies link was somewhat distracting. :eek: :covereyes



:D

.

[pgwenthold]

The student got the only A"

What do you expect from engineers?

"Endothermic" and "exothermic" refer to processes, and not objects. Thus, if "hell" is a place, then it cannot be endothermic or exothermic.

The fact that the student actually thinks that he can use endothermic or exothermic to describe a place, as opposed to a process, indicates that he doesn't have a good grasp of thermodynamics. Of course, the fact that the idiot instructor ASKED such a question indicates that HE doesn't have a very good grasp of thermodynamics, either.

[fuelair]

Oldish Urban Legend: http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/hell.asp

[Mashuna]

Is Hell endothermic, exothermic or imaginary?

[CaptainManacles]

Yeah....hello and welcome to 10 years ago. That post makes strongbad or "all your base are belong to us" look fresh. Did you just get the internet?

[Madalch]

I had students showing me this every years for six or seven years running. Not the same students, usually. As pgwethold says, the answer is annoyingly incorrect.

[MattusMaximus]

Classic :D

I love to hand this out to my students when we discuss thermodynamics.

[NobbyNobbs]

I heard that heaven is hotter than hell (http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/fun/heaven/).


.

It's even easier than that. Heat rises, ergo, heaven is warmer than hell.

:D

[Tricky]

It's even easier than that. Heat rises, ergo, heaven is warmer than hell.

:D
That would explain why mountaintops are so damn hot.;)

[I Ratant]

The exact temperature is 98.6 degrees F.
And when she's hot, she's hot!
When she's not, she's a giant PITA!
But so much fun to warm up with. :)

[pgwenthold]

I had students showing me this every years for six or seven years running. Not the same students, usually. As pgwenthold says, the answer is annoyingly incorrect.

Were it just the answer incorrect, I wouldn't care as much. It's cute and all, but of course misses in that it doesn't understand what endo and exothermic means.

But that's why the question bothers me in the first place! This is not just a clueless student, but also a ignorant instructor.

However, I do like the "Heaven is hotter than hell" exercise.

[Madalch]

But that's why the question bothers me in the first place! This is not just a clueless student, but also a ignorant instructor.
Exactly. Which is why I have no patience with students who suggest that I give it as a bonus question on the exam.

[FireGarden]

If we're talking blasts from the past, then how about the theological engineering exam? This was posted to JREF soon after I joined -- and it might have been old then.

http://danny.oz.au/danny/humour/theology-exam

You may use a calculator, the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, and the
Book of Mormon. The speed of light is c. Show all work. For all
problems, assume a perfectly spherical Jesus of constant density D.
No praying during the exam.

[slingblade]

Now there's a good band name:

Perfectly Spherical Jesus.

:p

[pgwenthold]

Exactly. Which is why I have no patience with students who suggest that I give it as a bonus question on the exam.


BTW, I totally get your point about "I had students showing me this every years for six or seven years running." I haven't gotten it sent to me recently, but a lot of friends were sending it to me for a while.

I always felt like Jane Goodall, when people would send her postcards and stuff with cutesy chimp pictures on them. She never liked them (because the chimps in question were taken out of their natural habitat, and usually raised by people with no knowledge of chimp sociology), and said she never found them "cute."

Apparently, I feel the same way about the misuse of thermodynamics.

[SirPhilip]

So, if Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature in Hell will increase until
all Hell breaks loose. Not quite correct, the largest volume entering the deepest parts of hell are from the United States and India, the rest being in flux. Much as a tornado is formed, If triggered by a sudden profound drop in hotness (http://www.nightcharm.com/imagesblog/2006/09/090506_tbn2.jpg) entering the very center however, basically what will occur (http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/Images/news/DestroyStar.jpg).

[Moochie]

Oldish Urban Legend: http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/hell.asp

It's weird, isn't it? Nothing ever dies on the Internet.

The problem with Snopes is that once you start reading, it's damned hard to stop.

I particularly liked this one:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/iacocca.asp

I'm an Aussie living in Australia, but Iacocca's evisceration of the Bush government, is deserved, I think, and could apply equally well to our late, unlamented Howard regime. We've not only turned the political page over here, we've opened a whole new book. I hope our American friends have the temerity to do likewise, come November.

M.

[fuelair]

It's weird, isn't it? Nothing ever dies on the Internet.

The problem with Snopes is that once you start reading, it's damned hard to stop.

I particularly liked this one:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/iacocca.asp

I'm an Aussie living in Australia, but Iacocca's evisceration of the Bush government, is deserved, I think, and could apply equally well to our late, unlamented Howard regime. We've not only turned the political page over here, we've opened a whole new book. I hope our American friends have the temerity to do likewise, come November.

M.Too true - but many of these are more recent adaptations of earlier way pre-internet things. Lot's of fun stuff on Snopes/Darwin Awards, etc.!!!

[schlitt]

If you ever see an email forward with:

This is great!!!!!!!!!

As the text body, followed by some supposedly humorous true story or containing an attachment, you can bet with high probability it will be at least a few years old, and an urban legend. (And in fact anything with multiple exclamation marks is a warning of impending stupidity, usually.)

It amazes me how many people are amused by these transparently fake scenarios.

It is always the same people forwarding them on.

Almost as bad as the; "Men say this!!! But woman say THIS!!!! HAHAHAHA", emails which have no relation to actual reality, and just regurgitate the stereotypes in the media which are already void of humour.

[Darth Rotor]

If triggered by a sudden profound drop in hotness
Hasn't Joan Rivers been lampooned enough?

[Michelle Lyon]

It's even easier than that. Heat rises, ergo, heaven is warmer than hell.

:D

Well, now, that depends. How far up above the Earth's surface is Heaven, exactly? The higher up you go, the thinner the air is and the colder it gets. :D

[Giraffe107]

If you ever see an email forward with:

This is great!!!!!!!!!

As the text body, followed by some supposedly humorous true story or containing an attachment, you can bet with high probability it will be at least a few years old, and an urban legend. (And in fact anything with multiple exclamation marks is a warning of impending stupidity, usually.)

It amazes me how many people are amused by these transparently fake scenarios.

It is always the same people forwarding them on.

Almost as bad as the; "Men say this!!! But woman say THIS!!!! HAHAHAHA", emails which have no relation to actual reality, and just regurgitate the stereotypes in the media which are already void of humour.

I get my revenge by checking out the stories, and then emailing back if they are false (with source materials and so on). The number of crap emails I get has gone down dramatically.

[pgwenthold]

I get my revenge by checking out the stories, and then emailing back if they are false (with source materials and so on). The number of crap emails I get has gone down dramatically.

LOL! I have done the same thing. Basically, everyone knows not to send me this type of crap because they know I am the party pooper.

I'm sure they continue to send it to those who think they are true.