The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our authority is in the bBible: 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 seven times seven (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 a 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. In other words, Heaven loses fifty times as much heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann fourth-power law for radiation,
(H/E)4 = 50,
where E is the absolute temperature of the Earth, viz. 300 K. This gives H as 798 K (525o C).
The exact temperature of Hell cannot be computed, but it must be less than 444.6o C, the temperature at which brimstone or sulfur 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 brimstone means that its temperature must be below the boiling point, which is 444.6o C. (Above this temperature it would be a vapor, not a lake.)
We have, then, temperature of Heaven, 525o C. Temperature of Hell, less than 445o C. Therefore, Heaven is hotter than Hell.
This appeared in Applied Optics, vol. 11, A14, 1972. Along these lines, you might consider the thermodynamics of Hell.
This is correct if we assume the pressure in both Heaven and Hell is the same as on earth´s surface.
Comment by Pontius — 05.20.09 @
This makes no sense. The text states that the light of the sun in sevenfold, not seven times sevenfold. The correct formula should be (H/E)^4=8, giving 103,6 degrees celsius. Not necessarily hotter than hell.
Comment by defekt — 09.22.09 @
Perhaps I’m mistaken, but this is right if we assume that pressure in heaven and hell are not only the same as on earth, but specifically is at earth’s sea level.
It could be argued that the traditional placement of hell below earth and heaven above may indicate that hell has a higher density than we would observe at sea level on earth, and so would have a higher boiling point than suggested here.
Comment by historian — 09.26.09 @
ownt
Comment by m — 09.28.09 @
“sevenfold, as the light of seven days” meaning, the amount of radiation from the sun is seven times seven days at all times.
Comment by Zoel — 08.18.10 @
I agree with defekt here: our biblical source states that “and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.” In the above calculations, the phrase is interpreted to mean that the “light of the sun, in a given day, is seven times that of seven days,” giving us the 49-fold increase that goes into the calculation. However, the more likely intent of the quotation is to simply emphasize a fact, which is to say “the light of the sun in a given day is seven-fold, which is the amount of light you would get over seven days.” Using this latter interpretation, as has been said, would lead to 103.6 C as our equilibrium temperature which is not necessarily hotter than hell, but certainly a less pleasant temperature than one would hope for.
Comment by Ben — 10.28.10 @