The nature of Hell 

National Post 
The following is reported as an actual question appearing on a 
University of Washington chemistry exam: "Is hell exothermic 
(releasing heat) or endothermic (absorbing heat)? Support your 
answer with a proof." 
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's 
law, which holds that the pressure of a given mass of gas is 
inversely proportional to its volume at a constant temperature. 
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 at which they are leaving. I think it is safe to assume that 
once a soul is in 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. 
Some 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 people and all souls go to Hell. 
With birth and death rates as they are, we can therefore expect 
the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. 
Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume of Hell 
because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and 
pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell must 
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. Therese Banyan 
during my freshman year "that it will be a cold night in Hell 
before I will sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I 
have not yet succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then 
(2) cannot be true, and thus, I am sure that Hell is exothermic. 
The student got the only A.