Kelvin Scale

Date: 08/20/2002 at 17:16:18
From: Savanna
Subject: Kelvin scale

I need to know everything there is to know about the kelvin scale, and 
how to convert from kelvin to Celsius. Can you please help me?

Date: 08/20/2002 at 18:43:31
From: Doctor Sarah
Subject: Re: Kelvin scale

Hi Savanna - thanks for writing to Dr. Math.

See Russ Rowlett's _How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement_:

   http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictK.html#kelvin 

kelvin (K)
the SI base unit of temperature, previously called the degree Kelvin. 
One kelvin represents the same temperature difference as one degree 
Celsius. In 1967 the General Conference on Weights and Measures 
defined the temperature of the triple point of water (the temperature 
at which water exists simultaneously in the gaseous, liquid, and solid 
states) to be exactly 273.16 kelvins. Since this temperature is also 
equal to 0.01 degrees C, the temperature in kelvins is always equal to 
273.15 plus the temperature in degrees Celsius. The kelvin equals 
exactly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The unit is named for the British 
mathematician and physicist William Thomson (1824-1907), later known 
as Lord Kelvin after he was named Baron Kelvin of Largs. He is best 
remembered for his pioneering work on the physics of heat, but he was 
also a strong advocate of the metric system; his support helped 
establish the now-familiar electrical units such as the ohm, volt, and 
farad.

- Doctor Sarah, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/