I know it was meant tongue in cheek Julian, but I don't think we can make
light of religious beliefs whether Christian or otherwise.
Best regards - Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: Engineers and biologists mechanical design list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Julian Vincent
Sent: 24 August 2012 19:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: I know it's not biomimetics, but . . .
Sorry if you find it offensive. However, if you read it carefully you will
see that it applies equally to all religions and beliefs that have some sort
of eternal reward and punishment system built in to them. I am sure that if
it were translated into other languages it would find exactly the same
resonance. The argument presented could not function if it took a sectarian
point of view. And the story ultimately relates to human behaviour rather to
any particular morality. So please don't feel that your beliefs are being
unfairly targeted. Any strong belief system can cope with humour.
Best wishes
Julian
On 24 Aug 2012, at 19:08, Prof Andy McIntosh wrote:
> 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+.
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