Temperature

A temperature is an objective comparative measurement of hot or cold. It is measured by

a thermometer. Several scales and unitsexist for measuring temperature, the most common
being Celsius (denoted °C; formerly called centigrade), Fahrenheit (denoted °F), and, especially in
science, Kelvin (denoted K). The coldest theoretical temperature is absolute zero, at which
the thermal motion of atoms and molecules reaches its minimum – classically, this would be a state
of motionlessness, but quantum uncertainty dictates that the particles still possess a finite zero-point
energy. Absolute zero is denoted as 0 K on the Kelvin scale, −273.15 °C on the Celsius scale, and
−459.67 °F on the Fahrenheit scale.

The kinetic theory offers a valuable but limited account of the behavior of the materials of
macroscopic bodies, especially of fluids. It indicates the absolute temperature as proportional to the
average kinetic energy of the random microscopic motions of those of their constituent microscopic
particles, such as electrons, atoms, and molecules, that move freely within the material.

Thermal vibration of a segment of protein alpha helix: The amplitude of the vibrations increases with
temperature.

Temperature is important in all fields of natural science

including physics, geology, chemistry, atmospheric sciences, medicine andbiology as well as most
aspects of daily life.

Many physical processes are affected by temperature, such as

 physical properties of materials including
the phase (solid, liquid, gaseous or plasma), density, solubility, vapor pressure,electrical
conductivity
 rate and extent to which chemical reactions occur

Temperature scales differ in two ways: the point chosen as zero degrees, and the magnitudes of
incremental units or degrees on the scale.

The Celsius scale (°C) is used for common temperature measurements in most of the world. It is an
empirical scale. It developed by a historical progress, which led to its zero point 0°C being defined by
the freezing point of water, with additional degrees defined so that 100°C was the boiling point of
water, both at sea-level atmospheric pressure. Because of the 100 degree interval, it is called a
centigrade scale.[1] Since the standardization of the kelvin in the International System of Units, it has
subsequently been redefined in terms of the equivalent fixing points on the Kelvin scale, and so that
a temperature increment of one degree Celsius is the same as an increment of one kelvin, though
they differ by an additive offset of 273.15.

The United States commonly uses the Fahrenheit scale, on which water freezes at 32°F and boils
at 212°F at sea-level atmospheric pressure.

Many scientific measurements use the Kelvin temperature scale (unit symbol: K), named in honor of
the Scottish physicist who first defined it. It is a thermodynamic or absolute temperature scale. Its
zero point, 0K, is defined to coincide with the coldest physically-possible temperature
(called absolute zero). Its degrees are defined through thermodynamics. The temperature of
absolute zero occurs at 0K = −273.15°C (or −459.67°F), and the freezing point of water at sea-level
atmospheric pressure occurs at273.15K = 0°C.

The International System of Units (SI) defines a scale and unit for the kelvin or thermodynamic
temperature by using the reliably reproducible temperature of the triple point of water as a second
reference point (the first reference point being 0 K at absolute zero). The triple point is a singular
state with its own unique and invariant temperature and pressure, along with, for a fixed mass of
water in a vessel of fixed volume, an autonomically and stably self-determining partition into three
mutually contacting phases, vapour, liquid, and solid, dynamically depending only on the total
internal energy of the mass of water. For historical reasons, the triple point temperature of water is
fixed at 273.16 units of the measurement increment.
An atmosphere (from Greek ἀτμός (atmos), meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα (sphaira), meaning
'sphere'[1][2]) is a layer of gasessurrounding a planet or other material body, that is held in place by
the gravity of that body. An atmosphere is more likely to be retained if the gravity it is subject to is
high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low.

The atmosphere of Earth is mostly composed of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about
21%), argon (about 0.9%) with carbon dioxide and other gases in trace amounts. Oxygen is used by
most organisms for respiration, nitrogen is fixed by bacteria and lightning to produceammonia used
in the construction of nucleotides and amino acids and carbon dioxide is used
by plants, algae and cyanobacteria forphotosynthesis. The atmosphere helps protect living
organisms from genetic damage by solar ultraviolet radiation, solar wind and cosmic rays. Its current
composition is the product of billions of years of biochemical modification of the paleoatmosphere by
living organisms.

The term stellar atmosphere describes the outer region of a star, and typically includes the portion
starting from the opaque photosphereoutwards. Stars with sufficiently low temperatures may form
compound molecules in their outer atmosphere.

Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air, and together with ocean circulation is
the means by which thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the Earth.

The Earth's atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, but the large scale structure of its
circulation remains fairly constant. The smaller scale weather systems – mid-latitude depressions, or
tropical convective cells – occur "randomly", and long range weather predictions of those cannot be
made beyond ten days in practice, or a month in theory (see Chaos theory and Butterfly effect).

The Earth's weather is a consequence of its illumination by the Sun, and the laws
of thermodynamics. The atmospheric circulation can be viewed as a heat engine driven by the Sun's
energy, and whose energy sink, ultimately, is the blackness of space. The work produced by that
engine causes the motion of the masses of air and in that process it redistributes the energy
absorbed by the Earth's surface near the tropics to space and incidentally to the latitudes nearer the
poles.

The large scale atmospheric circulation "cells" shift polewards in warmer periods (for
example, interglacials compared to glacials), but remain largely constant as they are, fundamentally,
a property of the Earth's size, rotation rate, heating and atmospheric depth, all of which change little.
Over very long time periods (hundreds of millions of years), a tectonic uplift can significantly alter
their major elements, such as the jet stream, and plate tectonics may shift ocean currents. During
the extremely hot climates of the Mesozoic, a third desert belt may have existed at the Equator.
Climate is the statistics of weather, usually over a 30-year interval.[1][2] It is measured by assessing
the patterns of variation intemperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation,
atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of
time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these
variables in a given region.\

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts
for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate change may refer to a
change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather around longer-term
average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by
factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics,
and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have been identified as primary causes of ongoing
climate change, often referred to as global warming.[1]
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather is what the forecasters on the TV news predict each day. They
tell people about the temperature, cloudiness, humidity, and whether a
storm is likely in the next few days. That’s weather! It is the mix of
events that happens each day in our atmosphere. Weather is not the same
everywhere. It may be hot and sunny in one part of the world, but
freezing and snowy in another.

Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the
weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds,
thousands, even millions of years to change.