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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 14 2021, @06:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the accuracy-vs-precision dept.

https://www.zmescience.com/other/fahrenheit-vs-celsius-did-the-u-s-get-it-right-after-all/

At face value, measuring the temperature using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit seems to make a lot of face sense. After all, the freezing point of water is a perfect 0 degrees Celsius — not the inexplicable 32 degrees 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.

Celsius is also part of the much-praised metric system. It seems as though every developed country in the world has adopted the metric system except for the United States, which still clings to tge [sic] older, more traditional measurements. Finally, scientists prefer to use Celsius (when they're not using Kelvin, which is arguably the most awkward unit of measurement for temperature). If it's good enough for scientists, it should be good enough for everybody else, right?

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

[...] 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.


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  • (Score: 2) by chromas on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:13PM (9 children)

    by chromas (34) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:13PM (#1177834) Journal

    Um, duh, we have organs. Organs have salt. Just like our comments.

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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:22PM

    by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:22PM (#1177840) Homepage
    Not sal ammoniac, which is the salt in the freezing mixture.
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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:36PM (7 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:36PM (#1177849) Journal

    While it is true that we may all have organs, not all organs are created alike. Some have very large pipes. Others are completely electronic with synthesized sound using various techniques. They also come in differing sizes. You cannot always tell by the keyboard. 88 keys? 72 keys? 66 keys? Only a mere 2-1/2 octaves? Which man has the larger organ? Some even have foot pedals.

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    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 14 2021, @09:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 14 2021, @09:40PM (#1177868)

      A very large pipe could be an excellent substitute for a baseball bat in your case. I'm sure we can find plenty of volunteers here to help in applying it with enough force that you'll be able to tell its size.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @01:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @01:24AM (#1177925)

      You have a large pipe.

      No need to brag.

    • (Score: 2) by Opportunist on Thursday September 16 2021, @07:20AM (4 children)

      by Opportunist (5545) on Thursday September 16 2021, @07:20AM (#1178217)

      Look, it's ok if you think you have a large organ, but don't brag, ok.

      And ffs, don't whip it out just to prove it!

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 16 2021, @01:49PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 16 2021, @01:49PM (#1178268) Journal

        The way I heard it (when compared with religion) was: don't whip it out in public, and don't shove it down my children's throats.

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      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 16 2021, @01:50PM (2 children)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 16 2021, @01:50PM (#1178269) Journal

        Also: I have a DX-7 in mint condition purchased in 1986. But no organ.

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        • (Score: 2) by Opportunist on Friday September 17 2021, @04:54PM (1 child)

          by Opportunist (5545) on Friday September 17 2021, @04:54PM (#1178698)

          I've heard a few funny names for it, but DX-7 is a new one.

          • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 17 2021, @05:34PM

            by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 17 2021, @05:34PM (#1178722) Journal

            You can google for the term.

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