Is hell exothermic or endothermic?

An excerpt from this site.

Dr. Schambaugh, of the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical 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 the following:

"Is hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with proof."

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.

The student got the only A.

Science Misconceptions

While researching for a topic, I saw this blog post about the most annoying misconception about your field. This would be an interesting topic. I think I'm gonna write about it some time.

On Discovering More than 300 New Species in Luzon

As a writer, there are a number of Websites that I have bookmarked and go to when I need new materials and sources for writing. I was browsing the science news on Science Daily when I saw this headline "More Than 300 New Species Discovered in the Philippines." I had to read twice to make sure that it was an international news. There was an overwhelming and satisfying feeling that came upon me while I read the article. It's not every day that scientific reports are made about the Philippines. Being a Filipino and a science major, I can say that I have an idea how significant this news is.

The Philippines is a beautiful country. I used to think that it is a paradise. If only we could look past the negativity and misshapen values, it is a beautiful place to live in.

Here are some of the newly discovered species.

Colorful seapen that emerges only at night
(Photo credit: Gary Williams, California Academy of Sciences)

New species of barnacle (Photo credit: Terry Gosliner,
California Academy of Sciences)

Read the article on
Science Daily
San Francisco Chronicle

Energy Reserve versus Energy Resource

There is something that's been bothering me for quite some time now—the difference between energy reserve and energy resource.

Based on my Internet (mostly Google) searches, an energy resource is energy source that is already discovered but has not been used. I figured that based on its name "reserve," it is exactly that—a reserve. Energy that is being saved for future use perhaps? Something that can be extracted and used at a later time. Whereas energy resource is energy source that is readily available and can be used immediately.

Basically, my interpretation on the above definitions is that an energy source is considered to be a reserve if it has been discovered to be existing but never been used. For example, the vast oil reserves in Middle East countries. But once extraction has been done on a reserve for the purpose of energy generation, it then becomes a resource.

 Update: As of 2:42 pm, same date as the original post, upon more online research, I arrived at this article "Reserves and Resources: A Primer for the Lay Investor." While I still find myself feeling a little confused, this clarifies some matters for me.

Disclaimer: This post about energy reserve and energy resource is based purely on the blogger's (that's me) personal opinion and interpretation. I do not claim any of the information to be an accurate fact.

Sources:
Energy Resources on IFPEC
A Guide to Oil Reserves and Resources