absolute temperature

absolute temperature

[′ab·sə‚lüt ′tem·prə·chür]

(thermodynamics)

The temperature measurable in theory on the thermodynamic temperature scale.

The temperature in Celsius degrees relative to the absolute zero at -273.16°C (the Kelvin scale) or in Fahrenheit degrees relative to the absolute zero at -459.69°F (the Rankine scale).

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

absolute temperature

The temperature value relative to absolute zero. The absolute zero is the theoretical temperature at which molecular motion vanishes and a body would have no heat energy; the zero point of the Kelvin and Rankine temperature scales. Absolute zero may be interpreted as the temperature at which the volume of a perfect gas vanishes or, more generally, as the temperature of the cold source that would render a Carnot cycle 100% efficient. The value of absolute zero is now estimated to be −273.15°C, −459.67°F, 0 K, and 0°R.

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