Temperature is a physical quantity expressing how hot or cold something is. To measure temperature more accurately, a thermometer can be used.
In 1714 A Dutch-German-Polish physicist, Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit constructed the mercury thermometer, the first sealed thermometer. Ten years he introduced the first temperature scale.
In the original Fahrenheit scale, the lower defining point, 0 °F, was established as the temperature of a solution of brine made from equal parts of ice, salt and water. Further limits were established as the melting point of ice (32 °F) and his estimate of the average human body temperature by placing the thermometer under the arm or in the mouth (96 °F, about 2.6 °F less than the modern value).
When Swedish scientist Anders Celsius first proposed the scale of temperatures named after him on December 25, 1741 zero was the boiling point of water and 100 its freezing point.
Celsius' suggestion of the freezing and boiling points of water as thermometer fixed reference points became popular and these fixed points (by now reversed from Celsius' original proposals) were adopted in the UK by a committee of the Royal Society led by Henry Cavendish in 1776.
For scientific use, "Celsius" is the term usually used, with "centigrade" remaining in decreasing use in English-speaking countries. It was not until February 1985 that the weather forecasts issued by the BBC switched from "centigrade" to "Celsius."
By the end of the 20th century, Fahrenheit was used as the official temperature scale only in the United States (including its unincorporated territories), its freely associated states in the Western Pacific, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands and Liberia. All other countries in the world now use the Celsius scale,
The lowest natural temperature ever directly recorded at ground level on Earth is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F;) at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on July 21, 1983.
The coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth is the Siberian village of Oymyakon (pop. 4000) in Russia, where Winter temperatures average -58. The temperature reached -68°C (-90°F) in 1933 (the coldest ever recorded outside Antarctica).
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HISTORY
In 1714 A Dutch-German-Polish physicist, Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit constructed the mercury thermometer, the first sealed thermometer. Ten years he introduced the first temperature scale.
In the original Fahrenheit scale, the lower defining point, 0 °F, was established as the temperature of a solution of brine made from equal parts of ice, salt and water. Further limits were established as the melting point of ice (32 °F) and his estimate of the average human body temperature by placing the thermometer under the arm or in the mouth (96 °F, about 2.6 °F less than the modern value).
When Swedish scientist Anders Celsius first proposed the scale of temperatures named after him on December 25, 1741 zero was the boiling point of water and 100 its freezing point.
Celsius' suggestion of the freezing and boiling points of water as thermometer fixed reference points became popular and these fixed points (by now reversed from Celsius' original proposals) were adopted in the UK by a committee of the Royal Society led by Henry Cavendish in 1776.
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| Side-by-side diagrams of centigrade and fahrenheit thermometers |
For scientific use, "Celsius" is the term usually used, with "centigrade" remaining in decreasing use in English-speaking countries. It was not until February 1985 that the weather forecasts issued by the BBC switched from "centigrade" to "Celsius."
By the end of the 20th century, Fahrenheit was used as the official temperature scale only in the United States (including its unincorporated territories), its freely associated states in the Western Pacific, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands and Liberia. All other countries in the world now use the Celsius scale,
RECORDS
The lowest natural temperature ever directly recorded at ground level on Earth is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F;) at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on July 21, 1983.
The coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth is the Siberian village of Oymyakon (pop. 4000) in Russia, where Winter temperatures average -58. The temperature reached -68°C (-90°F) in 1933 (the coldest ever recorded outside Antarctica).
The coldest temperature ever recorded in North America belongs to Alaska, at a bone-chilling -89.4°F (-67.8°C). This record was set on February 3, 1971, at Prospect Creek, a remote weather station located north of the Brooks Range.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in the contiguous United States (the 48 states excluding Alaska and Hawaii) is a chilling -70°F (-56.6°C). This extreme coldness was measured at Rogers Pass, Montana on January 20, 1954.
The greatest recorded change in temperature within a 24-hour period occurred in Loma, Montana on January 14-15, 1972, when a downslope chinook wind event caused the temperature to rise from -54°F at 9 am on January 14th to 49°F by 8 am the next day. This resulted in a temperature swing of 103°F (57.2°C)."
The highest temperature ever recorded on the surface of the Earth is 56.7°C (134.1°F), which was recorded on July 10, 1913, at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California. This reading is the official record recognized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
However, there is another reading of 58°C (136.4°F) that was recorded on September 13, 1922, at El Azizia, Libya. This reading was not officially recognized by the WMO due to concerns about the accuracy of the measurement methods used.
The hottest place in the universe is a cluster of galaxies called RXJ1347; it was discovered in 2009 by the Japanese telescope Suzaku and has a constant temperature of 300 million Celsius degrees. Theoretically, 150°C (302°F) is the cut-off point for life—proteins fall apart and chemical reactions can't occur at that temperature.
The hottest known thing in the known universe is actually on Earth: the Large Hadron Collider can reach temperatures of 4 trillion Kelvin.
In 2012 scientists at the Hadron Collider formed a quark-gluon plasma and subsequently recorded the hottest temperature created by man, 5.5 trillion degrees celsius. The team smashed together lead ions at 99% light speed to create quark gluon plasma–a state of matter that filled the universe after the Big Bang.
Swedish skier Anna Bagenholm survived the lowest body temperature ever recorded at 56.7 F (13.7 C). She had been skiing in Norway's Kjolen Mountains when she fell through a frozen stream and became stuck for 80 minutes. Despite being clinically dead, she made a full recovery.
FUN TEMPERATURE FACTS
The temperature in the shade is the actual air temperature. A thermometer in the sun will be inaccurate because the device absorbs the heat.
When he was president, Lyndon B. Johnson constantly asked the flight crew of Air Force One to change the temperature of the cabin. Eventually, they installed a fake control knob for him to 'control' the temperature himself. Johnson stopped complaining.
The temperature on the moon at the Apollo 11 landing site was 200ºF (93ºC).
According to a study in 2011, we are happiest when the temperature is 13.9C (57F).
The average temperature of a bee hive and the human body are the same.
At least one animal can survive cold approaching absolute zero - the tardigrade. Also known as the water bear, this microscopic being has been shown to be able to survive being frozen for several minutes at a mere 1 degree above absolute zero.
According to a study in 2011, we are happiest when the temperature is 13.9C (57F).
The average temperature of a bee hive and the human body are the same.
At least one animal can survive cold approaching absolute zero - the tardigrade. Also known as the water bear, this microscopic being has been shown to be able to survive being frozen for several minutes at a mere 1 degree above absolute zero.
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