temperature, measure of the relative warmth or coolness of an object. Temperature is measured by means of a thermometer thermometer, instrument for measuring temperature . Galileo and Sanctorius devised thermometers consisting essentially of a bulb with a tubular projection, the open end of which was immersed in a liquid.
..... Click the link for more information. or other instrument having a scale calibrated in units called degrees. The size of a degree depends on the particular temperature scale being used. A temperature scale is determined by choosing two reference temperatures and dividing the temperature difference between these two points into a certain number of degrees. The two reference temperatures used for most common scales are the melting point melting point, temperature at which a substance changes its state from solid to liquid. Under standard atmospheric pressure different pure crystalline solids will each melt at a different specific temperature; thus melting point is a characteristic of a substance and
..... Click the link for more information. of ice and the boiling point boiling point, temperature at which a substance changes its state from liquid to gas. A stricter definition of boiling point is the temperature at which the liquid and vapor (gas) phases of a substance can exist in equilibrium.
..... Click the link for more information. of water. On the Celsius temperature scale Celsius temperature scale (sĕl`sēəs)
..... Click the link for more information. , or centigrade scale, the melting point is taken as 0°C; and the boiling point as 100°C;, and the difference between them is divided into 100 degrees. On the Fahrenheit temperature scale Fahrenheit temperature scale (fâr`ənhīt')
..... Click the link for more information. , the melting point is taken as 32°F; and the boiling point as 212°F;, with the difference between them equal to 180 degrees. The Réaumur scale, used in some parts of Europe, also sets the melting point at zero, but it has an 80-degree temperature difference between 0°Re; and the boiling point at 80°Re;. The temperature of a substance does not measure its heat content but rather the average kinetic energy of its molecules resulting from their motions. A one-pound block of iron and a two-pound block of iron at the same temperature do not have the same heat content. Because they are at the same temperature the average kinetic energy of the molecules is the same; however, the two-pound block has more molecules than the one-pound block and thus has greater heat energy. A temperature scale can be defined theoretically for which zero degree corresponds to zero average kinetic energy (see gas laws gas laws, physical laws describing the behavior of a gas under various conditions of pressure, volume, and temperature. Experimental results indicate that all real gases behave in approximately the same manner, having their volume reduced by about the same proportion
..... Click the link for more information. ). Such a point is called absolute zero absolute zero, the zero point of the ideal gas temperature scale, denoted by 0 degrees on the Kelvin and Rankine temperature scales, which is equivalent to −273.15°C; and −459.67°F;.
..... Click the link for more information. , and such a scale is known as an absolute temperature scale. The Kelvin temperature scale Kelvin temperature scale, a temperature scale having an absolute zero below which temperatures do not exist. Absolute zero , or 0°K;, is the temperature at which molecular energy is a minimum, and it corresponds to a temperature of −273.
..... Click the link for more information. is an absolute scale having degrees the same size as those of the Celsius temperature scale; the Rankine temperature scale Rankine temperature scale, temperature scale having an absolute zero, below which temperatures do not exist, and using a degree of the same size as that used by the Fahrenheit temperature scale .
..... Click the link for more information. is an absolute scale having degrees the same size as those of the Fahrenheit temperature scale. The relationship between absolute temperature and average molecular kinetic energy is one result of the kinetic-molecular theory of gases kinetic-molecular theory of gases, physical theory that explains the behavior of gases on the basis of the following assumptions: (1) Any gas is composed of a very large number of very tiny particles called molecules; (2) The molecules are very far apart compared to
..... Click the link for more information. . See heat heat, nonmechanical energy in transit, associated with differences in temperature between a system and its surroundings or between parts of the same system.

Measures of Heat

..... Click the link for more information. ; thermodynamics Carnot cycle after the French physicist Sadi Carnot , who first discussed the implications of such cycles. During the Carnot cycle occurring in the operation of a heat engine, a definite quantity of heat is absorbed from a reservoir at high temperature; part of this heat is
..... Click the link for more information. .

temperature

Measure of hotness expressed in terms of any of several arbitrary scales, such as Fahrenheit, Celsius, or Kelvin. Heat flows from a hotter body to a colder one and continues to do so until both are at the same temperature. Temperature is a measure of the average energy of the molecules of a body, whereas heat is a measure of the total amount of thermal energy in a body. For example, whereas the temperature of a cup of boiling water is the same as that of a large pot of boiling water (212°F, or 100°C), the large pot has more heat, or thermal energy, and it takes more energy to boil a pot of water than a cup of water. The most common temperature scales are based on arbitrarily defined fixed points. The Fahrenheit scale sets 32° as the freezing point of water and 212° as the boiling point of water (at standard atmospheric pressure). The Celsius scale defines the triple point of water (at which all three phases, solid, liquid, and gas, coexist in equilibrium) at 0.01° and the boiling point at 100°. The Kelvin scale, used primarily for scientific and engineering purposes, sets the zero point at absolute zero and uses a degree the same size as those of the Celsius scale.

temperature (redirected from basal body temperature)

Measures of Heat

temperature

temperature
(redirected from basal body temperature)