How Low Can Temperature Go? Lord Kelvin and the Science of Absolute Zero
By Stephen Eckel, a physicist in the Sensor Science Division at NIST
Temperature is probably the second most measured physical quantity in our modern world — after time.
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I usually check is the time (to see if I should go back to sleep), but the second thing I check is the temperature outside (so that I know how to dress).
Temperature is such a common measurement that we sometimes forget how important it is. From dairy farming to rocketry, from climate science to weather prediction, so many things require an accurate knowledge of temperature.
The metric (SI) unit for temperature is called the kelvin, after Lord Kelvin, whose 200th birthday we celebrate today.
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