Encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism

[Virgil Stokes]

On 20-Jul-2012 10:27, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:20:57 +1000, Chris Angelico wrote:
>
>>>>        Since the current evidence indicates the universe will just keep
>>>> expanding, it's more of a "deep freeze death..."
>>> Heat death means *lack* of heat.
>> The second law of thermodynamics states that energy tends to go from
>> higher states to lower, with heat being the very lowest. It's possible
>> to do work using (say) kinetic energy, and in the process, some of that
>> energy becomes heat. It's also possible to do work with any difference
>> in temperature (eg Stirling engines), so the state of the universe in
>> which it's no longer possible to do any work will be one in which all
>> energy is heat and everything's at the same temperature. That doesn't
>> mean a lack of heat; in fact, it implies that there'll be rather more
>> heat than there now is, because we currently have a whole lot of
>> chemical energy available to be used.
> Yes, but the point is, that heat will be *incredibly* diffuse,
> essentially spread over the entire universe, which will be MUCH bigger
> than it is now, and hence the temperature will be low even though the
> total amount of heat will be high.
>
> The average temperature of the universe now is about 2.7 degrees above
> absolute zero (i.e. 2.7 K, -270.45 C or -454.81 F), with individual
> hotspots reaching into millions of degrees or higher. By the time the
> last of the stars burn out, the average temperature will be a minuscule
> fraction of a degree above absolute zero, and the only hotspots will be
> the slowly cooling neutron stars.
>
>
>> But in any case, that's a looooooooong way off...
> I once went to an astronomy lecture where the lecturer was talking about
> the eventual death of the sun. He said, "In about 10 billion years, the
> sun will consume almost all of its fuel. It will cool and expand into a
> red giant, and the earth will be engulfed by the expanded sun and
> destroyed."
>
> This fellow sitting next to me got all agitated, stood up and cried out,
> "Does the government know about this? We have to do something!"
>
> The lecturer said "Don't worry sir, there's no need to panic, this won't
> happen for billions of years."
>
> The fellow looked relived and said "Oh thank god, I thought you said
> *million*!"
>
>
>
How does this relate to the python list?

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