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Absolute Temperature Scale

Physical Sciences

The absolute temperature scale, now called the Kelvin scale, measures temperature from absolute zero, the theoretical point of minimum molecular motion, rather than from an arbitrary reference such as the freezing point of water. Its unit, the kelvin, relates to the Celsius scale as kelvin equals degrees Celsius plus 273.15, and it underlies the thermodynamic definitions of temperature used throughout the science.

Facts
Proposed Year
1848 1
Proposed By
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, in 1848. 1
Connections

Associated With

Belongs To

Source Kelvin Temperature Scale (Britannica)

Proposed By

Source William Thomson, Baron Kelvin (Britannica)

Studied In

Source Sadi Carnot (Britannica)

Uses

Kelvin, Units

The kelvin is the SI base unit of the absolute (thermodynamic) temperature scale, defined so that scale reads exactly zero at absolute zero.

Sources
1. William Thomson, Baron Kelvin (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sadi Carnot (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaStudied In: ThermodynamicsView the Source
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