Celsius vs Fahrenheit: The History
Celsius (°C) was proposed by Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius in 1742 and is now the official scale for most of the world. Fahrenheit (°F) was developed by German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1724 and remains the everyday standard in the US, its territories, and the Cayman Islands.
- Water freezes: 0 °C = 32 °F
- Body temperature: 37 °C = 98.6 °F
- Water boils: 100 °C = 212 °F
- The single point where they're equal: −40 °C = −40 °F
Quick Reference: Common Temperatures
The temperatures most people actually need to convert:
- Oven temperatures: 180 °C = 356 °F; 200 °C = 392 °F; 220 °C = 428 °F
- Fridge: 4 °C = 39 °F; freezer: −18 °C = 0 °F
- Comfortable room: 20-22 °C = 68-72 °F
- Hot summer day: 35 °C = 95 °F; heat wave: 40 °C = 104 °F
- Mild winter: −5 °C = 23 °F; bitter cold: −20 °C = −4 °F
- Human fever: 38.5 °C = 101.3 °F; serious fever: 40 °C = 104 °F
Kelvin and Absolute Zero
Kelvin is the thermodynamic temperature scale used in science. Unlike Celsius and Fahrenheit, Kelvin has no negative values — 0 K is absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature where particles have minimum kinetic energy.
- Absolute zero: 0 K = −273.15 °C = −459.67 °F
- 0 °C = 273.15 K
- 100 °C = 373.15 K
- Surface of the sun: ~5,778 K
- Liquid nitrogen: 77 K = −196 °C
- Liquid helium: 4.2 K = −268.95 °C