stekas@houxy.UUCP (10/04/83)
For the consolation of some of us who may not be spending eternity in
paradise, I'm posting a proof from "Applied Optics" (II, A14, 1972) that-
Heaven is hotter than Hell
The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed from
available data. Our authority is the Bible: Isaiah 30:26 reads,
"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 we
do from the Sun, and in addition 7 times 7 (49) times as much as
the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. ... With these
data we can compute the temperature of Heaven. 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. In other
words, Heaven loses 50 times as much heat as the Earth by radiation.
Using the Stefan-Boltzmann fourth-power law for radiation
4
(H/E) = 50,
where E is the absolute temperature of the Earth -- 300K.
This gives H, the temperature of Heaven, as 798K (525 degrees Celsius).
The exact temperature of Hell cannot be computed but it must
be less than 444.6 degrees Celsius, the temperature at which
brimstone (sulphur) changes from a liquid to a gas. Revelations 21:8:
"But the fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brim-
stone means that its temperature must be below the boiling point,
which is 444.6 degrees Celsius. (Above this point it would be a
vapor, not a lake.)
We have, then, temperature of Heaven, 525 degrees Celsius. Temperature
of Hell, less than 445 degrees Celsius. Therefore, Heaven is hotter
than Hell.
Jimkwmc@hou5d.UUCP (10/04/83)
The proof that heaven is hotter than hell, does depend on the assumption
that hell is not pressurised, and that the crowns and white robes of people
in heaven absorb, rather than reflect the energy falling on them.
:-) kwmc!hou5dken@ihuxq.UUCP (10/04/83)
Well, I guess that shoots down Mark Twain's opinion: "Heaven for the climate, but Hell for the company."
CSvax:Pucc-H:Physics:els@pur-ee.UUCP (10/04/83)
You misinterpret the Isaiah verse. It said, in effect, that the light
from the sun would go up by a factor of 7, NOT 49! That stuff about 7 days
was just restating the factor of 7.
els{Eric Strobel}
pur-ee!Physics:elsHEDRICK@RUTGERS.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (10/05/83)
From: Charles Hedrick <HEDRICK@RUTGERS.ARPA> I hate to ruin people's jokes, but Isaiah 30:26 does not refer to heaven. It is clearly talking about earth in that great day when the Assyrians are finally defeated. We have several options open to us. The easiest is to assume that this is being spoken metaphorically. Since this is obviously not in the spirit of the original comment, I propose the following two alternatives: - it is not said that the total radiation increases, only that the mentioned heavenly objects become brighter. The term bright normally refers to visible light. Perhaps the nature of their spectrum alters so that only the visible light increases. In the previous verse it is said "on the day when the forts of your enemies are captured and their people are killed, streams of water will flow from every mountain and every hill". This seems to set an upper bound of 100 C on the temperature. - since the Assyrians are no longer with us, the situation described in this passage must already have happened. Thus it is clear that the current brightness of the sun is 7 times what it was in earlier parts of the Bible. Perhaps this explains why science and technology suddenly started rising in the period of the Greeks, after millenia of slow progress in the bronze and iron ages: suddenly there was enough light for people to read! -------
flinn@seismo.UUCP (E. A. Flinn) (04/06/84)
The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed from available data. Our authority is Isaiah 30:26, "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 we do from the Sun, and in addition seven times seven (49) times as much as the Earth does from the Sun, or fifty times in all. The light we receive from the Moon is one ten-thousandth of the light we receive from the Sun, so we can ignore that. With these data we can compute the temperature of Heaven. 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 Stefan-Boltzmann law for radiation, (H/E)^4 = 50 where E is the absolute temperature of the earth (-300K), gives H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell cannot be computed, but it must be less than 444.6C, the temperature at which brimstone or sulphur changes from a liquid to a gas. Revelations 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 means that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, or 444.6C (Above this point it would be a vapor, not a lake.) We have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C. [From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972]
mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (04/08/84)
==============
The exact temperature of Hell cannot be computed, but it must be less
than 444.6C, the temperature at which brimstone or sulphur changes
from a liquid to a gas. Revelations 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 means that its
temperature must be at or below the boiling point, or 444.6C (Above
this point it would be a vapor, not a lake.)
================
Ah, yes ... but wouldn't Hell be under pressure, which would raise the
boiling point? Perhaps the triple point might be a better upper limit
on the temperature of Hell. What might that be?
--
Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt