Thursday 14 January 2010

I forgot! Annoyance Degrees C

I forgot to say what annoyed me about `Half of 40°C`! How absurd that phrase is becomes apparent when you ask "What is half of 40°C?" You might guess 20°C. Okay, what's half of -40°C? -20°C? 

The problem is 0°C and F are both not absolute zeros. You can't just take the magnitude from them and apply a fraction, and have it even remotely meaningful. .5 * 40 is not half the temperature or energy of 40 (in either C or F). You have to convert to a Scientific unit called "Kelvin," a system where the number does represent the magnitude in that way. 0K is 0K - no energy, whatsoever. So, half the temperature of 40°C is actually -116.575°C. Those are some seriously cold Hummingbirds!

I'm sure someone will correct my correction. But I know that 20° is not half 40°! :p

1 comment:

Alaskan Dave Down Under said...

Well I caught on to what you were saying instantly. Of course, it could have been the chilli beer talking...


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