Kelvin temperature scale
Kelvin temperature scale,
a temperaturetemperature,measure of the relative warmth or coolness of an object. Temperature is measured by means of a thermometer or other instrument having a scale calibrated in units called degrees. The size of a degree depends on the particular temperature scale being used.
..... Click the link for more information. scale having an absolute zero below which temperatures do not exist. Absolute zeroabsolute zero,
the zero point of the ideal gas temperature scale, denoted by 0 degrees on the Kelvin and Rankine temperature scales, which is equivalent to −273.15°C; and −459.67°F;.
..... Click the link for more information. , or 0°K;, is the temperature at which molecular energyenergy,
in physics, the ability or capacity to do work or to produce change. Forms of energy include heat, light, sound, electricity, and chemical energy. Energy and work are measured in the same units—foot-pounds, joules, ergs, or some other, depending on the system of
..... Click the link for more information. is a minimum, and it corresponds to a temperature of −273.15° on the Celsius temperature scaleCelsius temperature scale
, temperature scale according to which the temperature difference between the reference temperatures of the freezing and boiling points of water is divided into 100 degrees.
..... Click the link for more information. . The Kelvin degree is the same size as the Celsius degree; hence the two reference temperatures for Celsius, the freezing point of water (0°C;), and the boiling point of water (100°C;), correspond to 273.15°K; and 373.15°K;, respectively. When writing temperatures in the Kelvin scale, it is the convention to omit the degree symbol and merely use the letter K. The temperature scale is named after the British mathematician and physicist William Thomson KelvinKelvin, William Thomson, 1st Baron,
1824–1907, British mathematician and physicist, b. Belfast. He was professor of natural philosophy at the Univ. of Glasgow (1846–99).
..... Click the link for more information. , who proposed it in 1848. Another absolute temperature scale, the Rankine temperature scaleRankine temperature scale,
temperature scale having an absolute zero, below which temperatures do not exist, and using a degree of the same size as that used by the Fahrenheit temperature scale.
..... Click the link for more information. , is used by some engineers. See also Fahrenheit temperature scaleFahrenheit temperature scale
, temperature scale in which the temperature difference between two reference temperatures, the melting and boiling points of water, is divided into 180 equal intervals called degrees.
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