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Quick Question...

34.2k Dissent3R  10 months ago

Yeah, so today in physics class there was an argument about temperature, when one kid asked;

If the temperature today is 8 degrees Celsius and tomorrow is twice as cold, what is the temperature tomorrow?

I personally don't think saying "twice as cold" was a good approach, (as cold is just the absence of heat and really has no magnitude per say...) in my opinion, I'd rather say half as hot.

Anyways, guess I'll throw this one out to you guys..

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    34.2k Dissent3R

    This has inspired me to start a weekly brain teaser 🤔

    Pinned 10 months ago
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    @HuskyDynamics01 makes sense lol

    10 months ago
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    @ThatKindaWeeb Short version:
    Kelvin is an actual unit of temperature/energy that indicates the motion of particles;
    Fahrenheit is a relative scale that indicates how people feel;
    Celsius is a relative scale that indicates how water feels.

    Here's a handy diagram I like to use.

    10 months ago
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    @N0ble @HuskyDynamics01 and @32 Do have a point tho maybe all of us should use Kelvin instead of the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales

    +1 10 months ago
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    34.2k Dissent3R

    @ThatKindaWeeb I think my opinion is correct though...

    10 months ago
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    @XtarsTheExdarichGuy33106 @N0ble I'm thinking the same, wouldn't it be -8°C?

    10 months ago
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    28.1k YarisSedan

    Uhhhhh....

    10 months ago
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    My dumb brain thinking its -8°C:

    Cuz 8×2=16 and now its cold -16+8= -8°C

    Dumb ahh brain

    10 months ago
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    34.2k Dissent3R

    @32 true, it's really fun learning and hearing others ideas.

    10 months ago
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    29.6k 32

    Celcius is a relative scale, so it's really difficult to say an accurate temperature that is "twice as cold." I like your method where you said "half as hot." Looking at it that way, it's easy to convert 8 degrees Celcius into Kelvin, divide that number by two, then convert it back into celcius to get...

    -132.575 degrees

    or -206.635 fahrenheit

    Of course, if a friend says it's going to be twice as cold outside, they likely mean that it's going to be 4 degrees or something. That's not really how it scientifically works, but there is value in understanding what that means.

    +1 10 months ago
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    35.8k Graingy

    Half as hot.
    Half temperature.
    "Cold" doesn't exist, "Hot" does.
    "Half temperature" would be kelvin, and absolutely fatal.

    10 months ago
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    26.7k ToeTips

    I mean, 4x2 is eight sooo.

    10 months ago
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    34.2k Dissent3R

    @HuskyDynamics01 hmmm, well explained…

    10 months ago
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    Celsius is a relative scale, so you can't really say any point is "twice as cold" (or "twice as hot" as any other point on the scale. 4 degrees Celsius isn't "half as hot" as 8 degrees, because Celsius "begins" (at 0 degrees) at an arbitrary point and can go in both directions, meaning that "zero" does not indicate a true zero value. You could say that 4 degrees is half as much above zero as 8 degrees, but it is not half as hot.

    As a side note, this is why Kelvin exists. Kelvin is an absolute scale, meaning that it starts at zero and only progresses in one direction. If we were talking in Kelvin, 4 degrees would be half as hot as 8 degrees, because Kelvin has a defined absolute minimum value (it cannot go below zero), meaning that each step is a known and consistent distance from that actual zero point.

    +5 10 months ago
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    8,845 Yish42

    Or maybe -16?
    Twice= ×2
    Cold= negative temperatures

    +1 10 months ago
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    8,845 Yish42

    @Yish42 wait no either 16 or 4

    10 months ago
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    34.2k Dissent3R

    @Yish42 most of my friends said -8 degrees or 4 degrees

    +1 10 months ago
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    8,845 Yish42

    Either 16°C or 0°C

    10 months ago