Kelvin

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The kelvin (symbol: K) is the SI unit increment of temperature and is one of the seven SI base units. The kelvin is defined as 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water[1]. Zero kelvin (0 K) is the thermodynamic absolute zero.

The kelvin is named after the Irish-born physicist and engineer William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824 – 1907), who wrote of the need for an absolute thermometric scale.

The Celsius scale is related to the kelvin (absolute) scale by setting the temperature zero degrees Celsius (0°C) to be exactly 273.15 K, and the increment of one degrees Celsius to be equal to one kelvin. The older Fahrenheit scale has 32 degrees Fahrenheit (32°F) equal to 273.15 K, and the increment of 1.8°F equal to one kelvin; thus absolute zero is -459.67°F.

References

  1. ↑ International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The CIPM has specified the isotopic composition of standard water, as the triple point of water varies depending on the isotopic composition of water.


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