Kelvin

This article is about the unit of temperature. For other uses, see Kelvin (disambiguation).

Kelvin
Unit system	SI base unit
Unit of	Temperature
Symbol	K
Named after	William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

2019 kelvin
Unit system	SI base unit
Unit of	Temperature
Symbol	K
Named after	William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

The Kelvin scale is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all thermal motion ceases in the classical description of thermodynamics. The kelvin (symbol: K) is the base unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI).

Until 2018, the kelvin was defined as the fraction ​¹⁄_273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water (exactly 0.01 °C or 32.018 °F). In other words, it was defined such that the triple point of water is exactly 273.16 K.

On 16 November 2018, a new definition was adopted, in terms of a fixed value of the Boltzmann constant. For legal metrology purposes, the new definition will officially come into force 20 May 2019 (the 130th anniversary of the Metre Convention).

The Kelvin scale is named after the Belfast-born, Glasgow University engineer and physicist William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), who wrote of the need for an "absolute thermometric scale". Unlike the degree Fahrenheit and degree Celsius, the kelvin is not referred to or written as a degree. The kelvin is the primary unit of temperature measurement in the physical sciences, but is often used in conjunction with the degree Celsius, which has the same magnitude. The definition implies that absolute zero (0 K) is equivalent to −273.15 °C (−459.67 °F).

History

See also: Thermodynamic temperature § History

Lord Kelvin, the namesake of the unit

In 1848, William Thomson, who later was made Lord Kelvin, wrote in his paper, On an Absolute Thermometric Scale, of the need for a scale whereby "infinite cold" (absolute zero) was the scale's null point, and which used the degree Celsius for its unit increment. Kelvin calculated that absolute zero was equivalent to −273 °C on the air thermometers of the time. This absolute scale is known today as the Kelvin thermodynamic temperature scale. Kelvin's value of "−273" was the negative reciprocal of 0.00366—the accepted expansion coefficient of gas per degree Celsius relative to the ice point, giving a remarkable consistency to the currently accepted value.

In 1954, Resolution 3 of the 10th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) gave the Kelvin scale its modern definition by designating the triple point of water as its second defining point and assigned its temperature to exactly 273.16 kelvins.

In 1967/1968, Resolution 3 of the 13th CGPM renamed the unit increment of thermodynamic temperature "kelvin", symbol K, replacing "degree Kelvin", symbol °K. Furthermore, feeling it useful to more explicitly define the magnitude of the unit increment, the 13th CGPM also held in Resolution 4 that "The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is equal to the fraction ​¹⁄_273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water."

In 2005, the Comité International des Poids et Mesures (CIPM), a committee of the CGPM, affirmed that for the purposes of delineating the temperature of the triple point of water, the definition of the Kelvin thermodynamic temperature scale would refer to water having an isotopic composition specified as Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water.

In 2018, Resolution A of the 26th CGPM adopted a significant redefinition of SI base units which included redefining the Kelvin in terms of a fixed value for the Boltzmann constant of 1.380649×10⁻²³ J/K.

Usage conventions

When spelled out or spoken, the unit is pluralised using the same grammatical rules as for other SI units such as the volt or ohm (e.g. "the triple point of water is exactly 273.16 kelvins"). When reference is made to the "Kelvin scale", the word "kelvin"—which is normally a noun—functions adjectivally to modify the noun "scale" and is capitalized. As with most other SI unit symbols (angle symbols, e.g. 45° 3′ 4″, are the exception) there is a space between the numeric value and the kelvin symbol (e.g. "99.987 K").

Before the 13th CGPM in 1967–1968, the unit kelvin was called a "degree", the same as with the other temperature scales at the time. It was distinguished from the other scales with either the adjective suffix "Kelvin" ("degree Kelvin") or with "absolute" ("degree absolute") and its symbol was °K. The latter term (degree absolute), which was the unit's official name from 1948 until 1954, was ambiguous since it could also be interpreted as referring to the Rankine scale. Before the 13th CGPM, the plural form was "degrees absolute". The 13th CGPM changed the unit name to simply "kelvin" (symbol: K). The omission of "degree" indicates that it is not relative to an arbitrary reference point like the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales (although the Rankine scale continued to use "degree Rankine"), but rather an absolute unit of measure which can be manipulated algebraically (e.g. multiplied by two to indicate twice the amount of "mean energy" available among elementary degrees of freedom of the system).

Use in conjunction with degrees Celsius

A thermometer calibrated in degrees Celsius (left) and kelvins (right).

In science and engineering, degrees Celsius and kelvins are often used simultaneously in the same article, where absolute temperatures are given in degrees Celsius, but temperature intervals are given in kelvins. E.g. "its measured value was 0.01028 °C with an uncertainty of 60 µK."

This practice is permissible because the degree Celsius is a special name for the kelvin for use in expressing relative temperatures, and the magnitude of the degree Celsius is exactly equal to that of the kelvin. Notwithstanding that the official endorsement provided by Resolution 3 of the 13th CGPM states "a temperature interval may also be expressed in degrees Celsius", the practice of simultaneously using both °C and K is widespread throughout the scientific world. The use of SI prefixed forms of the degree Celsius (such as µ°C or microdegree Celsius) to express a temperature interval has not been widely adopted.

2018 redefinition

Main articles: Redefinition of SI base units and CODATA 2018

In 2005 the CIPM embarked on a programme to redefine the kelvin (along with the other SI units) using a more experimentally rigorous methodology. In particular, the committee proposed redefining the kelvin such that Boltzmann's constant takes the exact value 1.3806505×10⁻²³ J/K. The committee had hoped that the programme would be completed in time for its adoption by the CGPM at its 2011 meeting, but at the 2011 meeting the decision was postponed to the 2014 meeting when it would be considered as part of a larger programme.

The redefinition was further postponed in 2014, pending more accurate measurements of Boltzmann's constant in terms of the current definition, but was finally adopted at the 26th CGPM in late 2018, with a value of k = 1.380649×10⁻²³ J/K.

From a scientific point of view, the main advantage is that this will allow measurements at very low and very high temperatures to be made more accurately, as the techniques used depend on the Boltzmann constant. It also has the philosophical advantage of being independent of any particular substance. The challenge was to avoid degrading the accuracy of measurements close to the triple point. From a practical point of view, the redefinition will pass unnoticed; water will still freeze at 273.15 K (0 °C), and the triple point of water will continue to be a commonly used laboratory reference temperature.

The difference is that, before the redefinition, the triple point of water was exact and the Boltzmann constant had a measured value of 1.38064903(51)×10⁻²³ J/K, with a relative standard uncertainty of 3.7×10⁻⁷. Afterward, the Boltzmann constant is exact and the uncertainty is transferred to the triple point of water, which is now 273.1600(1) K.

Practical uses

Kelvin temperature conversion formulae

	from kelvins	to kelvins
Celsius	[°C] = [K] − 273.15	[K] = [°C] + 273.15
Fahrenheit	[°F] = [K] × ​9⁄5 − 459.67	[K] = ([°F] + 459.67) × ​5⁄9
Rankine	[°R] = [K] × ​9⁄5	[K] = [°R] × ​5⁄9
For temperature intervals rather than specific temperatures, 1 K = 1 °C = ​9⁄5 °F = ​9⁄5 °R Comparisons among various temperature scales

Colour temperature

Main article: Colour temperature

See also: Stefan–Boltzmann constant

The kelvin is often used in the measure of the colour temperature of light sources. Colour temperature is based upon the principle that a black body radiator emits light whose colour depends on the temperature of the radiator. Black bodies with temperatures below about 4000 K appear reddish, whereas those above about 7500 K appear bluish. Colour temperature is important in the fields of image projection and photography, where a colour temperature of approximately 5600 K is required to match "daylight" film emulsions. In astronomy, the stellar classification of stars and their place on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram are based, in part, upon their surface temperature, known as effective temperature. The photosphere of the Sun, for instance, has an effective temperature of 5778 K.

Digital cameras and photographic software often use colour temperature in K in edit and setup menus. The simple guide is that the higher the colour temperature, the more white or blue the image will be. The reduction in colour temperature will give an image more dominated by reddish, "warmer" colours.

Kelvin as a unit of noise temperature

Main article: Noise figure

In electronics, the kelvin is used as an indicator of how noisy a circuit is in relation to an ultimate noise floor, i.e. the noise temperature. The so-called Johnson–Nyquist noise of discrete resistors and capacitors is a type of thermal noise derived from the Boltzmann constant and can be used to determine the noise temperature of a circuit using the Friis formulas for noise.

Unicode character

The symbol is encoded in Unicode at code point U+212A K KELVIN SIGN. However, this is a compatibility character provided for compatibility with legacy encodings. The Unicode standard recommends using U+004B K LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K instead; that is, a normal capital K. "Three letterlike symbols have been given canonical equivalence to regular letters: U+2126 Ω OHM SIGN, U+212A K KELVIN SIGN, and U+212B Å ANGSTROM SIGN. In all three instances, the regular letter should be used."

See also

• Comparison of temperature scales
• International Temperature Scale of 1990
• Negative temperature

External links

• OnlineConversion.com – Convert different temperature units (Celsius, Fahrenheit, Rankine, Réaumur, kelvin)