If it's zero degrees outside and tomorrow is supposed to be twice as cold, what will the temperature be???
Hey Dave?!?!?!
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K
Kitty Sinatra
If it's 0 Fahrenheit: convert to Celsius, do the math. 0 Celsius: convert to Kelvin, do the math. 0 Kelvin: can't get colder.
Dave
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Dear TN,
Temperatures do not lend themselves well to arbitrary multipliers of worth such as "twice as" or "three times as". If it was 1 degree and tomorrow it is 2 degrees mathematically it might be 2x as warm but in reality it's the same temperature.
So thanks for the question, but in the words of General Akbar...
IT'S A TRAP!!
Temperatures do not lend themselves well to arbitrary multipliers of worth such as "twice as" or "three times as". If it was 1 degree and tomorrow it is 2 degrees mathematically it might be 2x as warm but in reality it's the same temperature.
So thanks for the question, but in the words of General Akbar...
IT'S A TRAP!!
:sneaky: Well played Dave. Well played.
It's not exactly a trap. If you convert to Kelvin, you can talk about temperatures as a ratio. 0 F = 255.37 K. if it is half as cold, it will be 127.69 K, or -229.83 F Better put your booties on!
K
Kitty Sinatra
Well there we have it. -30 is twice as cold as zero. Assuming of course, that bastard's telling the truth.
Dave
Staff member
But you can't really say half as cold because it's not a true measure of volume. Is 1 degree K half as cold as 2 degrees K? Nope.
But you can't really say half as cold because it's not a true measure of volume. Is 1 degree K half as cold as 2 degrees K? Nope.[/QUOTE]
It is because Kelvin has an absolute zero. As a measure of heat, you are talking about an amount of energy in terms of particles bouncing around in space. 1 K has half as much of that energy as 2 K does.
Ratio scales of measurement, like the Kelvin temperature scale, can be talked about in terms of ratios like half, quarters, etc. but interval scales, like Celsius and Fahrenheit, cannot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_measurement#Ratio_measurement
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