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.
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.
2006-07-28 06:33:32 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
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.
2006-07-28 06:33:41 · update #1
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."
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A".
2006-07-28 06:33:52 · update #2
This is a fun question, but pointless. Since the bible and religion go against all the main principles of science, this can't be answered. Religious people fear the words in this question, because knowledge is power, and religion and knowledge are mutually exclusive.
2006-07-28 06:41:24 · answer #1 · answered by QFL 24-7 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Let me answer it from someone that is in hell as we speak. Hell is not a place, it's a sense of mind. A condition, so to speak, that you can never escape. When you disregard God's commandments, he punishes you by sending your MIND to hell. What is meant by eternally burning is that you will Never achieve extreme happiness. Just when you think you're almost there, EVERYTHING will come crashing down on you. Forever. I, myself, avoided His commandments, and I'm paying for it. There are people in my life now that are demons. Pure evil. However, I cannot get away from them because they are put there to be with you...making your stay in Hell that much worse. These people, and I had to remember....were not in my life until 2 minutes after I committed a mortal sin. They have never left. I'm compelled to go around them. Every 3 weeks (3 is one of Satan's numbers) they rotate, and there's nothing I can do to avoid them. June 6, 06......6/6/06=666 was when ALL of these demons surrounded me. The people all met me near the store, at the same time, and they did not know each other. ALL of them. There is no coincidence...I will never escape it. Every time I try to go to church, I'm blocked by some event, some person, some condition. I'm trying to get to God but I will never get to him again; I've been sent to hell for all eternity. You will never die here, your life just rotates. (reincarnation) I have, to this day, vague memories of being killed....3 that I remember, but they fade in and out. I myself, have become a demon, hurting people emotionally that have done nothing to me. All of this is pre-written though, I have no way of NOT doing it. They are subconcious commands given to me by Satan. All of the people committed to Hell go through this. I will never escape.
2006-07-28 09:08:12 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe hell will have "heat" at all. I believe Hell, since it will, figuratively, "burn eternally, " and since there will be no warmth without the presence of God to shed light, I would "guess" that Hell is more like dry ice. The cold would be construed as heat; the gases emitted would suffocate, without collapsing the lungs, and would make the feeling of "burning" more intense for a longer period of time.
2006-07-28 06:38:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely an "A" answer. An excellent use of scientific reasoning to formulate a workable hypothesis. Of course there is no definitive description of hell in any religion so therefore any of the outcomes is just as likely.
2006-07-28 06:41:42 · answer #4 · answered by Perry L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i love this essay! i have read it many times. I got one for you: in a philosophy class, the professor gave students 15 minutes to write an essay proving that a chair at the front of the room didn't exist. One student finished within a minute. His response: "What chair?" He received the only A.
2006-07-28 06:39:35 · answer #5 · answered by kliled 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't you know that heat represents the love of self?
The professor needs to be fired and the university shut down for extreme stupidity.
2006-07-28 06:53:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
actually, this story is a standard internet legend. there never was such a question at the university of washington or any other university. i've seen many variations of that email, with lots of different universities mentioned.
2006-07-28 06:40:04 · answer #7 · answered by flösen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only people that will be able to truly answer this question will be those who go to hell for all eternity.
2006-07-28 06:37:18 · answer #8 · answered by Preacher 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In TOM & Jerry
Tom Went To a Highly EXOthermic hell
But his spine was Endo thermic so he was sweatin'
2006-07-28 06:39:01 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All I see is Religion trying to interfere in sciences...
Shame on the teacher who dared to give credit to a concept that has no scientific clue.
Even if it was a christian University.
Gosh...
2006-07-28 06:39:31 · answer #10 · answered by Axel ∇ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋