Kelvin (unit)
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.
Measurements made using any of the four major temperature scales (Kelvin, Celsius, Fahrenheit and Rankine) can be readily converted.
References
- ↑ 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.