Kelvin

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kelvin

Thermometer with markings in degrees Celsius and in kelvin

General information
Unit system SI
Unit of temperature
Symbol K
Named after William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
Conversions
x K in ... ... corresponds to ...
Celsius (x − 273.15) °C
Fahrenheit (1.8x − 459.67) °F
Rankine 1.8x °Ra
The kelvin, symbol K, is a unit of measurement for temperature.[1] The Kelvin scale
is an absolute scale, which is defined such that 0 K is absolute zero and a change of
thermodynamic temperature T by 1 kelvin corresponds to a change of thermal energy
kT by 1.380649×10−23 J. The Boltzmann constant k = 1.380649×10−23 J⋅K−1 was
exactly defined in the 2019 redefinition of the SI base units such that the triple point of
water is 273.16±0.0001 K.[2] The kelvin is the base unit of temperature in the
International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms.[2][3][4] It is
named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and physicist
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907).[5]

Historically, the Kelvin scale was developed from the Celsius scale, such that 273.15 K
was 0 °C (the approximate melting point of ice) and a change of one kelvin was exactly
equal to a change of one degree Celsius.[1][5] This relationship remains accurate, but
the Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Rankine scales are now defined in terms of the Kelvin
scale.[2][6][7] The kelvin is the primary unit of temperature for engineering and the
physical sciences, while in most countries the Celsius scale remains the dominant scale
outside of these fields.[5] In the United States, outside of the physical sciences, the
Fahrenheit scale predominates, with the kelvin or Rankine scale employed for absolute
temperature.[6]

History[edit]
Precursors[edit]

During the 18th century, multiple temperature scales were developed,[8] notably
Fahrenheit and centigrade (later Celsius). These scales predated much of the modern
science of thermodynamics, including atomic theory and the kinetic theory of gases
which underpin the concept of absolute zero. Instead, they chose defining points
within the range of human experience that could be reproduced easily and with
reasonable accuracy, but lacked any deep significance in thermal physics. In the case of
the Celsius scale (and the long since defunct Newton scale and Réaumur scale) the
melting point of water served as such a starting point, with Celsius being defined, from
the 1740s up until the 1940s, by calibrating a thermometer such that

The freezing point of water is 0 degrees.

The boiling point of water is 100 degrees.

This definition assumes pure water at a specific pressure chosen to approximate the
natural air pressure at sea level. Thus an increment of 1 °C equals 1/100 of the
temperature difference between the melting and boiling points. This temperature
interval would go on to become the template for the kelvin.[citation needed]
Charles's law[edit]

From 1787 to 1802, it was determined by Jacques Charles (unpublished), John

Dalton,[9] and Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac[10] that, at constant pressure, ideal gases
expanded or contracted their volume linearly (Charles's law) by about 1/273 parts per
degree Celsius of temperature's change up or down, between 0° and 100° C. This
suggested that the volume of a gas cooled at about −273 °C would reach zero.

Lord Kelvin[edit]

In 1848, William Thomson, who was later ennobled as Lord Kelvin, published a paper
On an Absolute Thermometric Scale.[11][12][13] Using the soon-to-be-defunct caloric
theory, he proposed an "absolute" scale based on the following parameters:

The melting point of water is 0 degrees.

The boiling point of water is 100 degrees.

"The arbitrary points which coincide on the two scales are 0° and 100°"

Any two heat engines whose heat source and heat sink are both separated by the
same number of degrees will, per Carnot's theorem, be capable of producing the
same amount of mechanical work per unit of "caloric" passing through.

"The characteristic property of the scale which I now propose is, that all degrees have
the same value; that is, that a unit of heat descending from a body A at the temperature
T° of this scale, to a body B at the temperature (T − 1)°, would give out the same
mechanical effect, whatever be the number T. This may justly be termed an absolute
scale, since its characteristic is quite independent of the physical properties of any
specific substance."

As Carnot's theorem is understood in modern thermodynamics to simply describe the

maximum efficiency with which thermal energy can be converted to mechanical energy
and the predicted maximum efficiency is a function of the ratio between the absolute
temperatures of the heat source and heat sink:

Efficiency ≤ 1 − absolute temperate of heat sink/absolute temperature of heat

source

It follows that increments of equal numbers of degrees on this scale must always
represent equal proportional increases in absolute temperature. The numerical value
of an absolute temperature, T, on the 1848 scale is related to the absolute temperature
of the melting point of water, Tmpw, and the absolute temperature of the boiling point
of water, Tbpw, by

T (1848 scale) = 100 (ln T/Tmpw) / (ln Tbpw/Tmpw)

On this scale, an increase of 222 degrees always means an approximate doubling of

absolute temperature regardless of the starting temperature.

In a footnote Thomson calculated that "infinite cold" (absolute zero, which would have
a numerical value of negative infinity on this scale) was equivalent to −273 °C using the
air thermometers of the time. This value of "−273" was the negative reciprocal of
0.00366—the accepted coefficient of thermal expansion of an ideal gas per degree
Celsius relative to the ice point, giving a remarkable consistency to the currently
accepted value.[citation needed]

Within a decade, Thomson had abandoned caloric theory and superseded the 1848
scale with a new one[12][14] based on the 2 features that would characterise all future
versions of the Kelvin scale:

Absolute zero is the null point.

Increments have the same magnitude as they do in the Celsius scale.

In 1892, Thomson was awarded the noble title 1st Baron Kelvin of Largs, or more
succinctly Lord Kelvin. This name was a reference to the River Kelvin which flows
through the grounds of Glasgow University.

In the early decades of the 20th century, the Kelvin scale was often called the "absolute
Celsius" scale, indicating Celsius degrees counted from absolute zero rather than the
freezing point of water, and using the same symbol for regular Celsius degrees, °C.[15]

Triple point standard[edit]

A typical phase diagram. The solid green line applies to most substances; the dashed
green line gives the anomalous behavior of water. The boiling line (solid blue) runs
from the triple point to the critical point, beyond which further increases in
temperature and pressure produce a supercritical fluid.

In 1873, William Thomson's older brother James coined the term triple point[16] to
describe the combination of temperature and pressure at which the solid, liquid, and
gas phases of a substance were capable of coexisting in thermodynamic equilibrium.
While any two phases could coexist along a range of temperature-pressure
combinations (e.g. the boiling point of water can be affected quite dramatically by
raising or lowering the pressure), the triple point condition for a given substance can
occur only at a single pressure and only at a single temperature. By the 1940s, the
triple point of water had been experimentally measured to be about 0.6% of standard
atmospheric pressure and very close to 0.01 °C per the historical definition of Celsius
then in use.

In 1948, the Celsius scale was recalibrated by assigning the triple point temperature of
water the value of 0.01 °C exactly and allowing the melting point at standard
atmospheric pressure to have an empirically determined value (and the actual melting
point at ambient pressure to have a fluctuating value) close to 0 °C. This was justified
on the grounds that the triple point was judged to give a more accurately reproducible
reference temperature than the melting point.[17]

In 1954, with absolute zero having been experimentally determined to be about

−273.15 °C per the definition of °C then in use, Resolution 3 of the 10th General
Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) introduced a new internationally
standardised Kelvin scale which defined the triple point as exactly 273.15 + 0.01 =
273.16 degrees Kelvin.[18][19]

In 1967/1968, Resolution 3 of the 13th CGPM renamed the unit increment of

thermodynamic temperature "kelvin", symbol K, replacing "degree Kelvin", symbol
°K.[20][21] The 13th CGPM also held in Resolution 4 that "The kelvin, unit of
thermodynamic temperature, is equal to the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic
temperature of the triple point of water."[4][22][23]

After the 1983 redefinition of the metre, this left the kelvin, the second, and the
kilogram as the only SI units not defined with reference to any other unit.

In 2005, noting that the triple point could be influenced by the isotopic ratio of the
hydrogen and oxygen making up a water sample and that this was "now one of the
major sources of the observed variability between different realizations of the water
triple point", the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM), a
committee of the CGPM, affirmed that for the purposes of delineating the temperature
of the triple point of water, the definition of the kelvin would refer to water having the
isotopic composition specified for Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water.[4][24][25]

2019 redefinition[edit]
In 2005, the CIPM began a programme to redefine the kelvin (along with the other SI
units) using a more experimentally rigorous method. In particular, the committee
proposed redefining the kelvin such that the Boltzmann constant takes the exact value
1.3806505×10−23 J/K.[26] The committee had hoped that the program would be
completed in time for its adoption by the CGPM at its 2011 meeting, but at the 2011
meeting the decision was postponed to the 2014 meeting when it would be considered
as part of a larger program.[27]

The redefinition was further postponed in 2014, pending more accurate measurements
of the Boltzmann constant in terms of the current definition,[28] but was finally
adopted at the 26th CGPM in late 2018, with a value of k = 1.380649×10−23 J⋅K−1.
[29][26][1][2][4][30]

For scientific purposes, the main advantage is that this allows measurements at very
low and very high temperatures to be made more accurately, as the techniques used
depend on the Boltzmann constant. It also has the philosophical advantage of being
independent of any particular substance. The unit J/K is equal to kg⋅m2⋅s−2⋅K−1, where
the kilogram, metre and second are defined in terms of the Planck constant, the speed
of light, and the duration of the caesium-133 ground-state hyperfine transition
respectively.[2] Thus, this definition depends only on universal constants, and not on
any physical artifacts as practiced previously. The challenge was to avoid degrading the
accuracy of measurements close to the triple point. For practical purposes, the
redefinition was unnoticed; water still freezes at 273.15 K (0 °C),[2][31] and the triple
point of water continues to be a commonly used laboratory reference temperature.

The difference is that, before the redefinition, the triple point of water was exact and
the Boltzmann constant had a measured value of 1.38064903(51)×10−23 J/K, with a
relative standard uncertainty of 3.7×10−7.[32] Afterward, the Boltzmann constant is
exact and the uncertainty is transferred to the triple point of water, which is now
273.1600(1) K.

The new definition officially came into force on 20 May 2019, the 144th anniversary of
the Metre Convention.[30][1][2][4]
Practical uses[edit]
Colour temperature[edit]
The kelvin is often used as a measure of the colour temperature of light sources. Colour
temperature is based upon the principle that a black body radiator emits light with a
frequency distribution characteristic of its temperature. Black bodies at temperatures
below about 4000 K appear reddish, whereas those above about 7500 K appear bluish.
Colour temperature is important in the fields of image projection and photography,
where a colour temperature of approximately 5600 K is required to match "daylight"
film emulsions. In astronomy, the stellar classification of stars and their place on the
Hertzsprung–Russell diagram are based, in part, upon their surface temperature,
known as effective temperature. The photosphere of the Sun, for instance, has an
effective temperature of 5778 K.

Digital cameras and photographic software often use colour temperature in K in edit
and setup menus. The simple guide is that higher colour temperature produces an
image with enhanced white and blue hues. The reduction in colour temperature
produces an image more dominated by reddish, "warmer" colours.

Kelvin as a unit of noise temperature[edit]

For electronics, the kelvin is used as an indicator of how noisy a circuit is in relation to
an ultimate noise floor, i.e. the noise temperature. The so-called Johnson–Nyquist
noise of discrete resistors and capacitors is a type of thermal noise derived from the
Boltzmann constant and can be used to determine the noise temperature of a circuit
using the Friis formulas for noise.

Derived units and SI multiples[edit]

The only SI derived unit with a special name derived from the kelvin is the degree
Celsius. Like other SI units, the kelvin can also be modified by adding a metric prefix
that multiplies it by a power of 10:

SI multiples of kelvin (K)

Submultiples Multiples
Value SI symbol Name Value SI symbol Name

10−1 K dK decikelvin 101 K daK decakelvin

10−2 K cK centikelvin 102 K hK hectokelvin

10−3 K mK millikelvin 103 K kK kilokelvin

10−6 K µK microkelvin 106 K MK megakelvin

10−9 K nK nanokelvin 109 K GK gigakelvin

10−12 K pK picokelvin 1012 K TK terakelvin

10−15 K fK femtokelvin 1015 K PK petakelvin

10−18 K aK attokelvin 1018 K EK exakelvin

 10−21 K zK zeptokelvin 1021 K ZK zettakelvin

10−24 K yK yoctokelvin 1024 K YK yottakelvin

10−27 K rK rontokelvin 1027 K RK ronnakelvin

10−30 K qK quectokelvin 1030 K QK quettakelvin

Orthography[edit]
According to SI convention, the kelvin is never referred to nor written as a degree. The
word "kelvin" is not capitalised when used as a unit, but is pluralised as appropriate.
The unit symbol K is a capital letter. For example, "It is 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside"
vs "It is 10 degrees Celsius outside" vs "It is 283 kelvin outside".[20] It is common
convention to capitalize Kelvin when referring to Lord Kelvin[5] or the Kelvin scale.[33]

The unit symbol K is encoded in Unicode at code point U+212A K KELVIN SIGN.
However, this is a compatibility character provided for compatibility with legacy
encodings. The Unicode standard recommends using U+004B K LATIN CAPITAL
LETTER K instead; that is, a normal capital K. "Three letterlike symbols have been
given canonical equivalence to regular letters: U+2126 Ω OHM SIGN, U+212A K
KELVIN SIGN, and U+212B Å ANGSTROM SIGN. In all three instances, the regular
letter should be used."[34]

See also[edit]
Comparison of temperature scales
International Temperature Scale of 1990
Negative temperature

References[edit]
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3. ^ "SI base unit: kelvin (K)". bipm.org. BIPM. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "A Turning Point for Humanity: Redefining the World's
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 the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. 5 part 2: 550–74.
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10. ^ Gay-Lussac, J. L. (1802), "Recherches sur la dilatation des gaz et des
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12. ^ Jump up to: a b Thomson, William. "On an Absolute Thermometric Scale
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13. ^ Lord Kelvin, William (October 1848). "On an Absolute Thermometric Scale".
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Bibcode:1873RSPS...22...27T. ISSN 0370-1662. “and consequently that the three
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of the 13th CGPM. Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. 1967. Archived
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24. ^ "Resolution 10 of the 23rd CGPM (2007)". bipm.org. BIPM. Retrieved 21
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original on 13 October 2015. “[BIPM director Martin] Milton responded to a
question about what would happen if ... the CIPM or the CGPM voted not to
move forward with the redefinition of the SI. He responded that he felt that by
that time the decision to move forward should be seen as a foregone
conclusion.”
29. ^ "2018 CODATA Value: Boltzmann constant". The NIST Reference on
Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. NIST. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
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31. ^ "Updating the definition of the kelvin" (PDF). International Bureau for
Weights and Measures (BIPM). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23
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32. ^ Newell, D B; Cabiati, F; Fischer, J; Fujii, K; Karshenboim, S G; Margolis, H
S; de Mirandés, E; Mohr, P J; Nez, F; Pachucki, K; Quinn, T J; Taylor, B N;
Wang, M; Wood, B M; Zhang, Z; et al. (Committee on Data for Science and
Technology (CODATA) Task Group on Fundamental Constants) (29 January
2018). "The CODATA 2017 values of h, e, k, and NA for the revision of the SI".
Metrologia. 55 (1): L13–L16. Bibcode:2018Metro..55L..13N.
doi:10.1088/1681-7575/aa950a.
33. ^ Brady, James E.; Senese, Fred (28 January 2008). Chemistry, Student Study
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ISBN 978-0-470-18464-6.
34. ^ "22.2". The Unicode Standard, Version 8.0 (PDF). Mountain View, CA, USA:
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(PDF) from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2015.

Bibliography[edit]
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (2019). "The International System of
Units (SI) Brochure" (PDF). 9th Edition. International Committee for Weights
and Measures. Retrieved 28 April 2022.

External links[edit]

Look up kelvin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.