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Author Topic: Exothermic vs endothermic??  (Read 26812 times)

doodoo

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Exothermic vs endothermic??
« on: May 29, 2005, 07:37:24 pm »
Hope everyone enjoys this one as much as I did.... I certainly leave it to the moderator to delete this post if it is too racy. but when I read this I laughed so hard I had to share. And I definately do not equate this with the thermapane vs full foam debate, althougn I'm convinced some here could draft an equally clever response to suit that never ending riddle.

***********

The following is supposedly 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 when it expands and heats 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 at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which 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 slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already  
frozen over.  The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct...leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."  
 
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"


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Exothermic vs endothermic??
« on: May 29, 2005, 07:37:24 pm »

Dr. Spa™ Ret.

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Re: Exothermic vs endothermic??
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2005, 12:57:02 pm »
I hate to be the one to tell you, but this "urban legend" is 15 to 20 years old........ still funny though.
If you can't sell it on eBay, it may not even qualify as landfill.

Retired (mostly) from the industry after 33 years...but still putzing around with a consumer information website, and trying to sell obsolete owners manuals

JcDenton

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Re: Exothermic vs endothermic??
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2005, 05:29:22 pm »
Urban Legend #2

The final exam for physics at the University was 3 hours. No extentions/no exceptions - 300+ students.

Guy walks in an hour late and begins to write the test. The professor shakes his head and reiterates that there will be no papers accepted after the 3 hours were up.

Time limit expires and everyone is done except for our guy who is still writing furiously. The professor laughs to himself and decides to wait and see if he'll continue writing even though he won't accept the late paper.

One hour goes by and the guy finally gets up to hand in his paper. The prof (who has been waiting patiently for this very moment) explains that under no circumstances will he accept the paper.

The student is furious. He yells out "Do you have any idea who I am"??

"No," replies the prof, "nor do I care".

"Are you telling me you have absolutely no idea who I am?"

"I told you - no, now get the hell out of here"! yells the prof.

"Good" says the student who quickly jams his paper in the middle of the huge stack on the prof's desk and walks out.

"Have a good summer".



Jc

« Last Edit: May 30, 2005, 06:51:00 pm by JcDenton »
How do you know how much you don't know?

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Re: Exothermic vs endothermic??
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2005, 05:29:22 pm »

 

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