The Fahrenheit thermometer places its zero at the point where heat can be reduced by salt on ice. The centigrade thermometer puts its zero at the common freezing point of water and 100 at the boiling point of water. These numbers can be misleading since on both scales, way down at the bottom is "absolute zero." That was the point, I learned, where there was no heat. I was very surprised to learn that the Fahrenheit reading for this absolute zero point was 457.67 degrees below the zero point on the thermometer. Wow, I think to myself! Even at zero, I have 457, nearly 458 degrees to work with. Never mind the fact that my little warm-blooded body will lose all its life if my core temperature even falls to 80° F. Nevertheless, the picture of all that heat that is still there at zero degrees Fahrenheit (-273.15° Centigrade) comforts me when I am outside in a strong chill wind on a winter day.
But in looking up some of the temperature information for this blog post, I discovered a recent article stating that some German scientists report reaching temperatures below absolute zero. I haven't learned much the idea yet but it seems that our heat scale can be thought of as a loop instead of a line. On the absolute or Kelvin scale, negatives temperatures are said to be "hotter" than any positive temperature. I know that sounds very weird but this last link above leads to many discussions of the phenomenon, said to have implications for the possible creations of perfectly efficient engines and for the understanding of the dark energy that scientists have been trying to understand over the last decades. Anyhow, stay warm. But, not too warm.
--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
