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Fahrenheit was a German physicist born in Danzig, Poland.
In 1724, he devised the Fahrenheit scale of temperature recording. The freezing point of water on this scale is 32 degrees and the boiling point of water is 212 degrees.
Temperature is measured by a thermometer and can be measured using the scales Fahrenheit, Celsius and another scale called Kelvin. Fahrenheit is used mostly in the United States, and most of the rest of the world uses Celsius. Kelvin is used by scientists.
The word thermometer is made up of two smaller words:
"Thermo" means heat and "meter" means to measure. |
The Celsius scale, developed in 1742, is named after Anders Celsius. He started with the freezing point of water and said that was 0 degrees Celsius (C for short). At the point where water boils, he marked that at 100 degrees C. The Celsius scale used to be called the "centigrade" scale. Centigrade means "divided into 100 degrees."

|
Fahrenheit |
Celsius |
Kelvin |
| Water boils |
212°F |
100°C |
373.16°K |
| Water freezes |
32°F |
0°C |
273.16°K |
| Absolute zero |
-459.7°F |
-273.16°C |
0°K |
The Kelvin scale is named after Lord Kelvin, whose full name is Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs, Lord Kelvin of Scotland. His scale starts at 0 degrees Kelvin, which is called absolute temperature. Water freezes at 273.16K and boils at 373.16K.
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