The Thermodynamics of Hell 
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 chemistry majors wrote proofs 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 proportionately as souls  are added. 

This leaves 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,
"... 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 sleeping 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. 


An alternative hypothesis:       http://sophia.smith.edu/~lkleinbe/dante/thermo.html