why do scientusts almost always use the celsius scale in there work?

Answer 1

for the same reason they use the metric system...it's easier to calculate everything in Celsuis. Besides, most of the world uses Celsius and metric systems anyway

Answer 2

As a matter of fact, they do not. They almost always use the Kelvin scale because it is the absolute temperature scale and its zero is the absolute zero. They use the celsius scale when they try communicate to the public, because one, the celsius scale is calibrated to the Kelvin scale (they are the same scale with only different zeroes), and second, because the celsius scale is closer to the human experience and can be more easily imagined by the general public. Zero degrees celsius is when water freezes and 100 is when it boils.

Answer 3

Because it's far easier to work with numbers ranging from 0 to 100 than from 32 to 212 or 273 to 373..

Also, it would be convenient for all concerned to stick to one particular scale, so that people can get an immediate feel for the temperatures involved.

Aesthetically speaking, it represents the melting and boiling points of water!! ;)

Answer 4

I'm not sure they do. Kelvin seems more popular in some scientific fields...like physics, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics. In any case, I'm guessing you'd like to know why Fahrenheit is not used much in the scientific world.

Fahrenheit is awkward...Kelvin and Centigrade (aka Celsius) are not. K and C are based on one hundred gradients between freezing and boiling water at standard pressures. Each gradient is called a degree K or C, as appropriate.

On the other hand, Fahrenheit set 32 deg as the freezing point and 212 deg at boiling...again under standard pressures. So there are 180 marks between the two points in a thermometer for F where there are only 100 marks for K and C. Each degree K or C = 1.8 degrees F.

I don't know about you, but I find working with nice even 100's instead of 180's a lot easier to do. Because both K and C are based on 100 degrees between freezing and boiling, 1 deg K = 1 deg C. That is, both are the same interval; when talking about intervals (like a change in temperature from T0 to T1) we can use either K or C and still get the same numbers. Not so with Fahrenheit because its interval between freezing and boiling is 180 degrees; not 100 like K and C.

Although intervals (del) are the same using K or C, their absolute temperatures are not. K is based on something called "absolute zero." This is a theoretical, but not yet achieved point where all molecular activity ceases...not even a squiggle. So, for K, water freezes at 273 plus degrees K and boils 100 degrees higher at 373 plus degrees.

Centigrade, on the other hand freezes at 0 deg C. If we wish to convert from C to K or vice versa, we need to make adjustments for where zero is. And in K and C, this is easy to do. We simply note that when C = 0, K = 273; so we set C = K - 273.15 and that does it because the gradient intervals (1 deg K = 1 deg C) for both are the same.

Anyway, to your point, K or C are more popular than F for scientific work because K or C are based on the same unit intervals. And, most of the world measures even its daily weather temperatures in C; so it is used to using temperatures where there are 100 degrees between freezing and boiling. The U.S. and U.K. are exceptions in that they use F for their daily temperatures. But even there, we are beginning to see both F and C given in the weather forecasts.

Answer 5

Because the change in temp in Celsius is equal to the change in temp in Kelvin, the SI unit of temp in science. 0K is the lowest possible temperature( absolute zero). It makes sense to start the scale here right? We use Celsius because it starts at 273K so 25'c is 298K it' easier to use the smaller number.