Temperature
hideIn physics, temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the higher temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics. If no heat flow occurs between two objects, the objects have the same temperature; otherwise heat flows from the hotter object to the colder object. This is the content of the zeroth law of thermodynamics. On the microscopic scale, temperature can be defined as the average energy in each degree of freedom in the particles in a system. Because temperature is a statistical property, a system must contain a few particles for the question as to its temperature to make any sense. For a solid, this energy is found in the vibrations of its atoms about their equilibrium positions. In an ideal monatomic gas, energy is found in the translational motions of the particles; with molecular gases, vibrational and rotational motions also provide thermodynamic degrees of freedom.
Temperature is measured with thermometers that may be calibrated to a variety of temperature scales. In most of the world (except for Belize, Myanmar, Liberia and the United States), the Celsius scale is used for most temperature measuring purposes. The entire scientific world (these countries included) measures temperature using the Celsius scale and thermodynamic temperature using the Kelvin scale, which is just the Celsius scale shifted downwards so that 0 K= −273.15 °C, or absolute zero. Many engineering fields in the U.S., notably high-tech and US federal specifications (civil and military), also use the kelvin and degrees Celsius scales. Other engineering fields in the U.S. also rely upon the Rankine scale (a shifted Fahrenheit scale) when working in thermodynamic-related disciplines such as combustion.
For more information about Temperature, read the full article at
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News tagged with temperature
Shape shifters: Researchers create new breed of antennas
Dec 01, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (13) |
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Antennas aren't just for listening to the radio anymore. They're used in everything from cell phones to GPS devices. Research from North Carolina State University is revolutionizing the field of antenna design ...
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Researchers demonstrate 100-watt-level mid-infrared lasers
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Northwestern University researchers have achieved a breakthrough in quantum cascade laser output power, delivering 120 watts from a single device at room temperature.
Strong regional climatic fluctuations in the tropics
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
2 hours ago |
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Climatic fluctuations close to the equator show a different pattern to climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the tropics distinct 11500 year fluctuations between wet and dry periods can be clearly identified which ...
Discovery of the Jekyll-and-Hyde factors in 'coral bleaching'
5 hours ago |
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Scientists are reporting the first identification of substances involved in the Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation that changes harmless marine bacteria into killers that cause "coral bleaching." Their study appears ...
Intelligent blood bags
22 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Have the blood supplies got too warm? Do they match the patient?s blood group? In the future, these kinds of questions will be answered by intelligent radio nodes attached to blood bags. These ...
The hidden lives of proteins
2 hours ago |
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An important Brandeis study appearing in the December 3 issue of Nature raises the curtain on the hidden lives of proteins at the atomic level. The study reports that for the first time, researchers used x ...
Newly discovered star one of hottest in Galaxy (w/ Video)
3 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers at The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics have discovered one of the hottest stars in the Galaxy with a surface temperature of around 200,000 degrees ...
Maryland Farmer grows plants for green roofs around nation
8 hours ago |
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It is a crisp fall day on Emory Knoll Farms as John Shepley stops at a raspberry bush, picks a few berries and pops them into his mouth on his walk to the greenhouses.
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