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Concept
Thermodynamic temperature
Summary
Thermodynamic temperature is a quantity defined in thermodynamics as distinct from kinetic theory or statistical mechanics.
Historically, thermodynamic temperature was defined by Lord Kelvin in terms of a macroscopic relation between thermodynamic work and heat transfer as defined in thermodynamics, but the kelvin was redefined by international agreement in 2019 in terms of phenomena that are now understood as manifestations of the kinetic energy of free motion of microscopic particles such as atoms, molecules, and electrons. From the thermodynamic viewpoint, for historical reasons, because of how it is defined and measured, this microscopic kinetic definition is regarded as an "empirical" temperature. It was adopted because in practice it can generally be measured more precisely than can Kelvin's thermodynamic temperature.
A thermodynamic temperature reading of zero is of particular importance for the third law of thermodynamics. By convention, it is reported on the Kelvin scale of temperature in which the unit of measurement is the kelvin (unit symbol: K). For comparison, a temperature of 295 K is equal to 21.85 °C and 71.33 °F.
Thermodynamic temperature, as distinct from SI temperature, is defined in terms of a macroscopic Carnot cycle. Thermodynamic temperature is of importance in thermodynamics because it is defined in purely thermodynamic terms. SI temperature is conceptually far different from thermodynamic temperature. Thermodynamic temperature was rigorously defined historically long before there was a fair knowledge of microscopic particles such as atoms, molecules, and electrons.
The International System of Units (SI) specifies the international absolute scale for measuring temperature, and the unit of measure kelvin (unit symbol: K) for specific values along the scale. The kelvin is also used for denoting temperature intervals (a span or difference between two temperatures) as per the following example usage: "A 60/40 tin/lead solder is non-eutectic and is plastic through a range of 5 kelvins as it solidifies.
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