Start here Dave. Then go to Malachi Martin....

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Engineering, Final Exam question for May of 1997.  Dr. Schambaugh
is known for asking questions such as, "Why do airplanes fly?" on his
final exams.

 His one and only final exam question in May 1997 for his Momentum,
Heat and Mass Transfer II class was: "Is hell exothermic or endothermic?

Support your answer with proof."

(exothermic= gives off heat; endothermic=absorbs heat)

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 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, let's 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, then 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 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. Two options exist:

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 quote given to me by Theresa Manyan during Freshman
year, "That 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 Option 2 cannot be
true...Thus, hell is exothermic."

  The student, Tim Graham, got the only A.