Why doesn't kelvin have a degree symbol??

Question

Why?

Answer 1

The easiest way to answer this, I think, is to first explain why Fahrenheit and Celsius *do* use the degree symbol. Neither F nor C are units of measurement, unlike cm or L. You would not, for example, say that an object is -9 cm long, but it is not unusual to talk about negative temperatures when the weather gets cold. F and C are *scales*, not units of something concrete, which is why we refer to them in "degrees". Kelvins, on the other hand, are not ever expressed as negative values. 0 Kelvins, remember, is *absolute* zero, the temperature at which all particles are at complete rest and have no kinetic motion. This makes Kelvins a proper unit, like meters. Zero Kelvins denotes the absence of thermodynamic temperature just as zero meters denotes the absence of length.

That said, it used to be the convention to talk about "degrees Kelvin" or "degrees absolute" when referring to temperatures in Kelvins. In 1967, at the 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures, it was decided that referring to temperature intervals in "degrees Kelvin" and thermodynamic temperature in "Kelvin" units created unnecessary confusion, since the two measurements are functionally the same thing. The conference adopted a resolution that "degrees" should be dropped when referring to temperature in Kelvins, and that's been the convention ever since.

Answer 2

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RE:
Why doesn't kelvin have a degree symbol??
Why?

Answer 3

It is the convention. Why do celsius have a degree symbol? Because they go with those measurements. In celsius...the symbol is XoC or ZoF...but in Kelvin, the actual symbol is K.

Answer 4

Because it is another way to measure degree to measure degree so u must have a degree symbol so people won't confuse what measurements

Answer 5

you cannot use the degree symbol with Kelvin. K is the symbol.

i double checked on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin

Answer 6

It does. All temperature readings can use the temp symbol.
Sometimes it is easier to not use it.
With or without the temp symbol, you always use C, F or K to define what scale you are using.

Answer 7

K like C and F
y wouldn't it have a symbol. u don't wanna spell it out do u. would u like to spell out F

Answer 8

this the conventional way of writing it without a degree.

Answer 9

I thought it was K, as opposed to C or F