Celsius Vs. Centigrade
The Celsius scale is a temperature scale named for the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. The centigrade scale and the Celsius scale are nearly the same scales, where 0 degrees is at the freezing point of water and 100 degrees is at the boiling point of water, except the zero point of the Celsius scale is more precisely defined.
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The Original Celsius Scale
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In 1741, Celsius invented a temperature scale where 0 degrees was the boiling point of water and 100 degrees was the freezing point of water. There were one hundred degrees between these defining points, so this was a centigrade scale. Centi- means hundredths and -grade refers to the number of gradients or degrees in the scale.
Why Centigrade Became Celsius
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Two problems existed with the centigrade scale. First, a unit named the "grade" already existed, so one hundredth of a grade would be a centigrade. This could cause confusion. The other problem with the centigrade scale was that the freezing point of water could not be measured very precisely.
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The Triple Point of Water
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In 1954, the International Commission on Weights and Measures defined the Celsius scale as being the temperature on the Kelvin scale minus 273.15, or the triple point of water. The triple point of water is the temperature and pressure at which water exists simultaneously as a gas, liquid, and allows greater precision in experimental measurements. The Celsius temperature scale was essentially the centigrade scale, except the 0 point was defined more precisely.
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References
- Photo Credit thermometer image by Holtea Silviu from Fotolia.com
