Julian - As a Christian I am pretty saddened that you have allowed this on
the biomimetics link. The article you forwarded I know is tongue in cheek,
but pertains to (in the main) Christian teaching of a real place of eternal
punishment. The subject matter and the references to 'Hell freezing over,'
'Hell let loose,' and immorality I was not expecting on this professional
link which in other respects I have found to be scientifically valuable. 

Regards - Andy


Professor Andy C. McIntosh DSc, FIMA, C.Math, FEI, C.Eng, FInstP, MIGEM,
FRAeS

Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory,
Energy and Technology Innovation Initiative (ETII)
School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering, 
University of Leeds, 
LEEDS
LS2 9JT 
U..K. 
Phone : +44-113-343 2506
Fax : +44-113-246 7310 
http://www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/people/speme/staff/a.c.mcintosh
###########################################################

-----Original Message-----
From: Engineers and biologists mechanical design list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Julian Vincent
Sent: 23 August 2012 22:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: I know it's not biomimetics, but . . .

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 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:


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. 
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
two 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 AN A+.