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i thought zero was it. how can we have degrees below zero.

2007-01-08 05:59:49 · 14 answers · asked by bbq 6 in Science & Mathematics Earth Sciences & Geology

14 answers

When they first made thermometers and started measuring temperature, they didn't know that there was a coldest possible temperature or what it was. So Mr. Fahrenheit made up a scale where 0 was the lowest temperature he could find (at least some say). Meanwhile Mr. Celsius decided that was silly and used the freezing and boiling points of water for a new temperature scale.

About 100 years later Mr. Thompson more or less determined what the absolute lowest temperature could be. He suggested a new temperature scale based on this as a the lowest point, but it was too late as Fahrenheit and Celsius had been used for so long.

We do have Kelvin (and Rankin) scales which put zero at that absolute lowest temperature, but only scientists ever use those scales. Fahrenheit and Celsius remain popular because the range of their numbers closely reflects the range of temperatures that people are likely to experience in the everyday world. When the temperature drops from 40 degress to 30 degrees, this reflects a significant change. If we instead said that the temperature droped from 490 to 480 degrees, it wouldn't seem nearly as significant, even though this is quite colder to the average person.

2007-01-08 06:17:55 · answer #1 · answered by romulusnr 5 · 1 0

Fahrenheit and Celsius are merely scales invented by man to express the feeling of warmth. You should look at the Rankine and Kelvin Scales for "absolute zero."

Absolute Zero is the the point where all atomic activity ceases and therefore there is absolutely zero emission of heat. As you know with all reactions heat is released, even if that reaction is just an atomic particle moving against the air in the space the atom occupies causing friction.

On the Kelvin and Rankine scales zero degrees means zero degrees.

The Celsius scale is based upon the freezing and boiling point of water under standard temperature and pressure. The origination of the Fahrenheit numbers is disputed.

2007-01-08 06:53:58 · answer #2 · answered by Joker 7 · 0 0

It depends on the temperature scale you are using. Zero degrees Centigrade is the freezing/melting point of water. Zero degrees Farenheit is 32 degrees below the freezing/melting point of water. Zero degrees Kelvin is the point at which all atomic movement stops. That's why zero degrees kelvin is called Absolute Zero, and why Kelvin is the only temperature scale where there are no negative temperatures.

2007-01-08 06:10:21 · answer #3 · answered by ? 7 · 2 0

What temperature scale are you talking about? There are several different scales and the point zero as well as the increments on the scale are fairly arbitrary.

One of the most sensible systems (Celsius) sets zero as the freezing point of water and 100 as the boiling point of water (under standard pressure.

This is not to say that there is no heat (energy) in items that are zero degrees Celsius. The absence of heat, that is to say the point where it can get no colder, is known as absolute zero and is approximately -273 degrees Celsius.

2007-01-08 06:08:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3 0

Which temperature scale are you referring too?

For Fahrenheit and Celsius the 0 degree point chosen was arbitrary, so you can have temperatures less then 0

Fahrenheit - the point of freezing water was chosen as 32 degrees

Celsius - the point of freezing water was chosen as 0 degrees

Kalvin - 0 degrees, the theoretical lowest possible temperature where nothing could be colder and no heat energy remains in a substance. So this would be your 0, with no possible temperature below it.

2007-01-08 06:09:30 · answer #5 · answered by srrl_ferroequinologist 3 · 2 0

Zero is not the temperature which water will freeze, as that depends on the scale being used. For example, 0 is freezing on the Celsius scale, while 32 is freezing on the Fahrenheit scale.

The number zero is just a point of reference.

2007-01-08 06:08:11 · answer #6 · answered by SLATE 2 · 1 1

On the Kelvin scale absolute zero is 0 and nothing gets colder. On other scales like Fahrenheit and Celcius 0 is in another place and far above absolute 0..

2007-01-08 06:02:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3 0

Zero is just an arbitrary number on a scale. After all, there is a difference between zero on the Fahrenheit scale and zero on the Celsius scale, right?

2007-01-08 06:02:31 · answer #8 · answered by krustykrabtrainee 5 · 2 1

Zero is the temperature at which water freezer so it is only a step on the temperature scale. Yes, it can get a lot colder than zero. 35 below zero is not unusual in the prairies in winter. Whitehorse often has 60 below.

2007-01-08 06:05:43 · answer #9 · answered by Lynn K 5 · 0 3

In the metric system, 0 is freezing level for water, and 100 is boiling point. Anything below zero is below freezing. Where i am in northern canada we go 50 below zero, that is really cold.

2007-01-08 06:07:31 · answer #10 · answered by memyselfandI 3 · 0 2

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