why doesn't the thermometer starts at 0 degree?

Question

this is a science question

Answer 1

On what scale?????

Because thermometers are practical devices made for the practical world. The various temperature scales thermometers use were designed for certain "standard" reference conditions. We already have 3: Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin, and 3 is probably 1 or 2 too many as it is.

Thermometers are made for usage in conditions that might deviate greatly from the standard. These conditions are very different if you are in Northern Europe, The North Pole, the Sahara Desert, measuring your home, measuring your physiology, cooking, measuring industrial processes, or measuring the sun or space.

An absolute scale like degrees Kelvin would always start at 0, but nothing in the world which humans interact with is anywhere near that. In fact 0 degrees Celsius is 273 degrees Kelvin.

Celsius gives two very practical and useful references. 0 is the temperature water freezes at sea level. 100 is the temperature water boils at sea level, but that scale gets kind of compressed when measuring the weather or whether I have a fever.


Why does Fahrenheit go from 32 to 212 instead of 0 to 100 like Celsius. The version I was taught was that 0 is the temperature at which equal measures of salt and water melt and that 100 somehow related to something else like body temperature. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit for more theories, but you get the general idea.

Answer 2

I am assuming you are talking about the regular thermometers with which we figure out if we have fever or not. They usually start at 94 to 95 F up to 108 F. This is the normal range of temperature for humans (although one would be in medical stress if the temp is 94 or 108.). A person rarely survives a body temperature of 108 F or below 92F.

Answer 3

Mercury thermometers do not work past the point where mercury is a solid so there is not point, and down near absolute 0 it would be a sad joke to even think thermometer - absolute zero is a theoretical state, not a real one for all practical purposes.

Answer 4

Because the thermometer wouldn't be very useful when temperatures went below 0. Sometimes, they do.

Answer 5

cos when celsius made the thermometer he took water and freezed it....in the temperature it turned into ice he wrote 0 to his thermometer

Answer 6

Celsius 0 degs when water freezes. Fahrenheit is 32 degs.

Answer 7

Because it's not a kelvin thermometer.

Answer 8

It does, if you're using the Celcius/Centigrade scale - or at least freezing is at zero degrees. If you're using the Fahrenheit scale, then freezing is 32 degrees.

Answer 9

def a thermostat same element with my explorer it became caught open so it became no longer warming up. the motor should be a t a cetain temp for it to run top. 10 greenback max area undemanding restoration