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Is There Such a Thing As Absolute Hot?

Posted by timothy on from the she-does-exist-yes dept.

AlpineR writes "Is there an opposite to absolute zero? An article from PBS's NOVA online explains several theories of the maximum possible temperature. Maybe it's the Planck temperature, 10^32 K, beyond which the known laws of physics break down. Or maybe just 10^30 K, the limit of some versions of string theory. If space is actually 11-dimensional then the maximum temperature could even be as low as 10^17 K, attainable by the Large Hadron Collider. Or maybe infinite temperature wraps around to negative temperature and absolute hot is the same as absolute cold."

19 of 388 comments (clear)

  1. Integer overflows by m50d · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's what you get for writing a universe in C.

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    I am trolling
    1. Re:Integer overflows by Watson+Ladd · · Score: 4, Funny

      Slashdot uses HTML, not BBCode.

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      Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further development.-- Frontinus, 1st cent. AD
    2. Re:Integer overflows by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 4, Funny

      and I assume that /dev/null are blackholes... /root is god. literally

      and I just want read/write access to /proc/kcore

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    3. Re:Integer overflows by Xzzy · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's a sound argument for intelligent design. If temperature overflows, it means we were all programmed and god does, in fact, exist.

      The downside is he's a first year CS student.

      It would certainly explain a lot. The universe's expansion is just a memory leak and the big bang was simply POST. Black holes? Core dumps. I just worry what happens when he wedges the machine and has to reboot.

  2. Sure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    > "Or maybe infinite temperature wraps around to negative temperature and absolute hot is the same as absolute cold."

    Or maybe the universe is a snake eating its own tail!

    Or maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt.

    1. Re:Sure by WombatDeath · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think you've hit on something with the snake idea.

      Anyway, it's a little-known fact that 'absolute hot' is 39.6 degrees celsius (about 103.3 degrees fahrenheit). Any observation indicating a higher temperature is simply due to malfunctioning apparatus or experimental error.

  3. Is There Such a Thing As Absolute Hot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, and it's my wife's sister. I love the holidays!

    1. Re:Is There Such a Thing As Absolute Hot? by Wicko · · Score: 5, Funny

      And here, ladies and gentleman, is an excellent use of AC. Avoid death by wife! Although now you've ruled out any possibility of a threesome.

    2. Re:Is There Such a Thing As Absolute Hot? by rasputin465 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Although now you've ruled out any possibility of a threesome.

      Not necessarily. No one said his wife had to be involved in the threesome ;-)

  4. Yes, there is. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    McDonald's coffee?

  5. Absolute hot? by Malevolent+Tester · · Score: 5, Funny

    Margaret Thatcher. Covered in whipped cream. (apologies to anyone who was planning to close their eyes in the near future)

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    If you haven't made a developer cry, you've wasted a day.
  6. Yeah, her name is Jessica Alba! by bchernicoff · · Score: 4, Funny

    DUH!

    1. Re:Yeah, her name is Jessica Alba! by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 4, Funny

      I was about to mod you Off-Topic but it's the day before Christmas so I'll post my own off-topic message instead.

  7. A simple scientific experiment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Is there such a thing as absolute hot?"
    1. Turn on a burner on the stove. Turn it up as high as it will go.
    2. Wait 5 minutes for the burner to warm up.
    3. Place the palm of your hand on the burner.
    4. You tell me.

    1. Re:A simple scientific experiment by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Is there such a thing as absolute hot?" 1. Turn on a burner on the stove. Turn it up as high as it will go. 2. Wait 5 minutes for the burner to warm up. 3. Place the palm of your hand on the burner...

      Very efficient: you test for absolute hot and absolute stupid all at the same time.

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      Table-ized A.I.
  8. Or maybe by roman_mir · · Score: 5, Funny

    we should switch the scale of hotness: accept Carmen Electra as 1 unit of hotness as measured in the year 2000. Also accept that 2 Carmen Electras is twice as hot as 1 Carmen Electra. As the number of Carmen Electras approaches infinity, their total combined hotness approaches some saturation limit, after which it is no longer possible to determine whether hotness of N x Carmen Electra is greater than hotness of (N+1) x Carmen Electra, which breaks down the laws of mathematics and thus the laws of physics by making N=N+1.

    I must add that Chuck Norris can kick Carmen Electra's ass even at the hotness limit.

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    You can't handle the truth.
    1. Re:Or maybe by ocie · · Score: 4, Funny

      In school, we used the Hatcher scale (Teri Hatcher in Lois and Clark around 1994). In practice, we usually measured in terms of milli-hatchers or in those few unfortunate cases, micro-hatchers.

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      JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
    2. Re:Or maybe by Jesus_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Did I honestly just write "beautiness"? I seriously need more sleep. My sleep depravity is affectionating my articulating. If this keeps up, my ableness to write anything meany will be completeful diminishized!

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      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  9. Re:Correction...General Relativity and QM by dubbayu_d_40 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who knew James Bond was a brainy karma whore?