The following is one of Dr. Schalmbaugh's Final Test questions for
May 1997. (Dr. Schalmbaugh, University of Oklahoma School of Chemical
Engineering, is known for asking questions such as this on his final
exams.)
May 1997, Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer II Final Exam Question:
"Is hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with truth."
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law
or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we postulate that if souls exist, then they must have some
mass. If they do, then a mole of souls can also have a mass. So, at
what rate are souls moving into hell and at what rate are souls 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 souls 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 people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that
all people and 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 in volume in 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 souls and volume needs to stay constant.
Case 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.
Case 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 Theresa Banyan during my freshman year, "it will be a
cold night 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 case 2 cannot be true.
Thus, hell is exothermic.
The student, Tim Graham, got the only A.