Hell seems to be a bit of a hot topic at the moment, so I thought I'd offer a couple of scientific dissertations on the subject. The first is lifted from the SkepticReport article "Things Creationists Hate":
Finally, in confusion, here's a fairly well-known piece taken from nowhere in particular. It purports to be a real exam answer but I very much doubt that:
Quote:Thermodynamics according to Isaiah
The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our authority is the Bible, Isaiah 30:26, describing Heaven:
Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days.
Thus, Heaven receives from the moon as much radiation as the Earth does from the sun, and in addition forty-nine times as much as the Earth does from the sun, or fifty times in all. The light we receive from the moon is 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the sun, so we can ignore that. The radiation falling on Heaven will heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to the heat received by radiation; i.e., Heaven loses fifty times as much heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stephan-Boltzmann fourth-power law for radiation, we have
(H/E)4 = 50
where E is the absolute temperature of the Earth, 300° K (27° C). This gives H, the absolute temperature of Heaven, as 798° K (525° C)! (That’s close to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Your kitchen oven won’t get nearly that hot.)
The exact temperature of Hell cannot be computed. However, Revelation 21:8 says:
But the fearful and unbelieving... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.
A lake of molten brimstone (or sulphur) means that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6° C (above that point, it would be a vapour, not a lake). We have, then, that Heaven, at 525° C, is hotter than Hell, at less than 445° C.
So who says that the Bible has no accurate and useful scientific data?
Finally, in confusion, here's a fairly well-known piece taken from nowhere in particular. It purports to be a real exam answer but I very much doubt that:
Quote:The Physics of Hell
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington engineering mid term. The answer was so "profound" that the Professor shared it with colleagues, which is 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 off when it expands and heats up 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 that souls are moving into Hell and the rate 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, 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 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 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. Of course, 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 Ms. Teresa Banyan 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 still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then, #2 cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze."
The student received the only "A" given.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
