Scales of Temperature

When it comes to measuring temperature, there are a variety of scales of units. The scales are marked on every thermometer used to measure the temperature of a human body. A thermometer is an instrument that is used to determine the temperature.

According to the discipline of Thermodynamics, Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin are the three scales used in the measurement systems for the temperature. Before going into the details, let us know what the temperature is.

What is Temperature?

Temperature is the measurement of an object’s warmth or coldness compared to a reference value. In simpler words, we can say that temperature is a numeric scale used to measure hot and cold.

What are Scales of Temperature?

Scales of temperature are parameters used to measure the temperature, and a thermometer is used. Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin are the three most popular temperature scales. Thermometers measure temperature using these three units, using predefined reference points to aid in comparison.

Water has a freezing point of 0 °C and a boiling temperature of 100 °C on the Celsius scale with unit degrees Celsius. In contrast, it has a freezing point of 32 °F and a boiling point of 212 °F on the Fahrenheit scale with a unit degree Fahrenheit.

The third is the Kelvin scale, a widely used temperature scale in science. It is an absolute temperature scale with 0 K at absolute zero temperature with unit Kelvin.

Understanding Temperature Scales in Detail

It is vital to know the various types of temperature scales, how to use them, and in which cases to measure the correct temperature. Here we have discussed the three different types of temperature scales in Thermodynamics and details related to converting them from degrees to Fahrenheit and vice versa:

• Fahrenheit

The first precise temperature scales were Fahrenheit. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, a Polish-born Dutch physicist, introduced a mercury-based thermometer in the year 1714. According to The Royal Society of England, this was the world’s first known practical and accurate thermometer. The unit in a Fahrenheit scale is expressed as a number followed by °F, or simply F. The freezing point of water is 32, and the boiling point is 212 on this scale.

Fahrenheit is used to measure temperature in only a few nations today; these are the United States, Belize, Palau, the Bahamas, the Marshall Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

• Celsius

Celsius is a more scientific scale. A Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius, is credited with being the first to conduct and publish the scientific definition of an international temperature scale through experiments.

In a proposal to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1742, Celsius proposed a scale based on two fixed points: 0 (water’s freezing point) and 100 (water’s boiling point). Celsius named his scale “Centigrade” at first, but an international conference on weights and measures renamed it “Celsius” in honor of Anders Celsius in 1948. It is a part of the metric system, and a unit in the Celsius scale is expressed as a number followed by °C, or simply C.

• Kelvin

For scientists, Kelvin is an absolute temperature that uses zero (0) as the minimum fixed point. There is no temperature below zero on a Kelvin scale, also referred to as the SI unit for temperature. In 1848, a British mathematician and scientist, William Thomson, aka Lord Kelvin, proposed an absolute temperature scale independent of the qualities of a substance like ice or the human body.

On the Kelvin scale, water freezes at 273.15 degrees Kelvin (0 degrees Celsius) and boils at 373.15 degrees Kelvin (100 degrees Celsius). Scientists primarily use the Kelvin scale, and a unit in this scale is expressed as a number followed by the letter K.

Temperature Conversions

Temperature conversion from one scale to another is occasionally essential. Here are formulas to convert temperatures from Kelvin degrees to Fahrenheit and other scales, and vice versa:

• Celsius – Fahrenheit = T (°F) = 9/5 T (°C) + 32
• Fahrenheit – Celsius = T (°C) = 5/9 (T (°F) − 32)
• Celsius – Kelvin = T (K) = T (°C) + 273.15
• Kelvin – Celsius = T (°C) = T (K) − 273.15
• Fahrenheit – Kelvin = T (K)= 5/9 (T (°F) − 32) + 273.15

Kelvin – Fahrenheit = T (°F) = 9/5 (T (K) − 273.15) + 32

Which Temperature Scale Should You Use?

Now that you know the temperature scale, you should learn about the proper use of the scales. The correct scale for measuring temperatures varies depending on the situation, particularly the group you are exchanging the measured data. The Celsius and Fahrenheit scales are the most frequently used temperature scales.

Americans traditionally use the Fahrenheit scale in their daily lives for weather and cooking; therefore, it is preferable to use the Fahrenheit scale to measure temperature in the US. However, because the majority of the Eastern countries and other countries across the world use the Celsius scale, it is preferable to use that scale across the rest of the world and while talking overseas.

The Kelvin scale is based on the physical properties of any gas and can be calibrated perfectly anywhere in the universe. As a result, scientists mostly prefer to conduct experiments using the Kelvin scale.

Use of Thermometer in Measuring Temperature

The accuracy of measurement is determined by the levels provided by the thermometer and the technique employed by the user. Thermometers are divided into two categories: clinical thermometers and laboratory thermometers.

A clinical thermometer is used to determine the temperature of the human body, which is displayed in degrees – Celsius (°C) and Fahrenheit (°F). In contrast, a laboratory thermometer can be used to monitor the temperature in laboratories since it ranges between 10 °C to 110 °C.

Conclusion

Temperature is the critical component of Thermodynamics, and temperature scales are the tools used to measure the temperature. Several temperature scales are based on personal preference or convenience rather than need. While Celsius, aka Centigrade scale, is used to measure water, air, and climate temperature, the Fahrenheit scale measures the temperature of an average human body. And Kelvin, an SI unit of temperature, is used to measure temperature in scientific work.