absolute temperature
1
6.3
- noun
- /ˈæb.sə.luːt ˈtɛmpərətʃər/
- Specialized
:
temperatura absoluta
- As an absolute temperature reference always appears on the screen, the actual temperature of an object being viewed is always known, and day-to-day comparisons can be made.
- absolute temperature scale
Examples
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So when you do these calculations, make sure to use the absolute temperature in Kelvin.
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Here H is enthalpy, T is absolute temperature, and S is entropy.
Academic text (2012) -
Use absolute temperatures, and all should agree to use a standard color scheme.
Blog text (15) -
It turns out that radiation is proportional to absolute temperature to the fourth power.
Blog text (18) -
Although at lower absolute temperatures, the physiological indicator shows consistency between the two experiments.
Academic text (1992) -
The absolute temperature of this gas is measured at 300 Kelvin.
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Scientists often calculate the energy of particles based on their absolute temperature.
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In physics, absolute temperature is critical for understanding thermodynamic processes.
Surface Forms
Morphology
absolute + temperature
This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'absolute' (not relative / measured from a fixed zero point) modifies 'temperature', so the phrase denotes a temperature measured from an absolute zero. The construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'temperatura absoluta', French 'température absolue'), so a B1 learner who knows the two constituents can infer the basic meaning even if they lack technical knowledge of Kelvin/Rankine scales.
Etymology
Absolute temperature comes from measuring temperature from a fixed point called 'absolute zero', the coldest possible state where motion stops. Because this way of measuring starts at that real zero, absolute temperature is given in Kelvin and 'cannot be negative'.