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posted by martyb on Thursday July 27 2017, @06:49PM   Printer-friendly
from the There's-nothing-hotter-than-ITS-90 dept.

At face value, measuring the temperature using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit seems to make sense. After all, the freezing point of water in Celsius is a perfect 0 degrees C — not that inexplicable 32 degrees, as in Fahrenheit. Also, the boiling point of water in Celsius is right at 100 degrees (Okay, 99.98, but what's a couple hundredths of a degree among friends?), instead of the awkward 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

But Fahrenheit may be the best way to measure temperature after all. Why? Because most of us only care about air temperature, not water temperature.

Celsius is great for measuring the temperature of water. However, we're human beings who live on dry ground. As a result, it's best to use a temperature gauge that's suited to the air, as opposed to one that's best used for water. This is one reason why Fahrenheit is superior.

Fahrenheit is also more precise. The ambient temperature on most of the inhabited world ranges from -20 degrees Fahrenheit to 110 degrees Fahrenheit — a 130-degree range. On the Celsius scale, that range is from -28.8 degrees to 43.3 degrees — a 72.1-degree range. This means that you can get a more exact measurement of the air temperature using Fahrenheit because it uses almost twice the scale.

A precise reading of temperature is important to us because just a little variation can result in a perceivable level of discomfort. Most of us are people who are easily affected even by even slight changes in the thermometer, and the Fahrenheit scale is more sensitive to those changes.

It seems the author is saying that nobody uses fractions of degrees in day-to-day life, so Fahrenheit is a better scale because it has smaller increments. I'm not sold on this, because you'll get the same temperature variation within a room whether you set your air-conditioning system to 21°C or 70°F, and people will complain that they prefer the room to be a bit warmer/cooler/whatever.

Does anyone here have another reason for advocating the continued use of the Fahrenheit scale ?


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  • (Score: -1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @06:57PM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @06:57PM (#545339)

    n/t

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @07:57PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @07:57PM (#545391)

    One thing Celsuis has guoing for it is its easier to spell. Almost as easy as Calvin.

    • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:19PM (3 children)

      by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:19PM (#545441)

      One thing Celsuis has guoing for it is its easier to spell. Almost as easy as Calvin.

      Apparently easier to spell than going as well!

      • (Score: 4, Touché) by Zyx Abacab on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:34PM (2 children)

        by Zyx Abacab (3701) on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:34PM (#545456)

        Celsuis

        So we're not going to address the elephant in the room, then? :)

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:41PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:41PM (#545459)

          So we're not going to address the elephant in the room, then? :)

          What's the best temperature at which to play Clavin-ball?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:43PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 27 2017, @09:43PM (#545461)

          Maybe he was trying to spell "Celsuis".

    • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday July 28 2017, @05:32AM (2 children)

      by Reziac (2489) on Friday July 28 2017, @05:32AM (#545617) Homepage

      Not to mention Kelvin.

      --
      And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @06:14AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @06:14AM (#545632)

        (thatsthejoke)

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @09:02AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @09:02AM (#545678)

          You misspelled Whoosh. ;-)

  • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Friday July 28 2017, @01:13PM

    by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 28 2017, @01:13PM (#545741)

    Yeup, that's how often I (submitter) use or write Fahrenheit.

    My thanks to your Eagle eyes, and the actions of the editors.