What Is Subzero?
Dictionaries define subzero as any temperature below the zero point on a scale--i.e. negative temperatures.
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Etymology
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Subzero combines the Latin prefix "sub-" and the Italian word "zero". "Sub-" means under. "Zero" originates from the Arabic "sifr"---cipher---taken from the Sanskrit "sunya-m," meaning "empty place."
Temperature Vs. Heat
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Temperature indicates the amount of motion of an object's molecules. Faster motion creates higher temperature. Heat is energy, ever transferring itself from hotter objects to colder ones, until they are the same temperature--equilibrium.
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Significance of the Zero Point
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At the zero point, water has lost so much heat energy and its molecules have slowed so much that it shifts from liquid to solid. On the Celsius scale, zero degrees is this point. On the Fahrenheit scale, however, zero degrees has no real significance other than that it is 31 degrees colder than the freezing point of water.
Lowest of the Low
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Though all temperatures below the zero point are considered subzero, the lowest theoretically possible temperature is referred to as Absolute Zero. At this temperature---a rather brisk --273.15 degrees Celsius, or --459.67 degrees Fahrenheit---all heat energy in any substance is lost and all molecule motion ceases.
Curious Fact
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At the South Pole--the coldest place on Earth--temperatures almost never rise above subzero. It is so cold and dry, in fact, that it is essentially a desert. Less than two inches of snow actually fall per year.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Ralph Hockens
