Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
absolute scale

absolute scale

6.7
A temperature scale that starts at absolute zero, with zero as the lowest possible temperature
  • noun
  • /ˈæb.sə.luːt skeɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : escala absoluta
  • On an absolute scale, water freezes at 273.16 degrees Kelvin.

Examples

  • It boggles my mind that you can demonstrate an understanding of the distinction between an intensive and extensive variable but miss the idea of an absolute scale.

    Blog text (10)

  • Scientists use the absolute scale to accurately measure temperatures in experiments.

  • The Kelvin scale is an absolute scale where zero represents absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature.

Synonyms

Kelvin scale
vsabsolute scale
  • Specialized
5.5

A temperature scale that starts at absolute zero and uses the same size degree as Celsius

is the general category not tied to Celsius unit size
Rankine scale
vsabsolute scale
  • Specialized
9.2

A temperature scale that starts at absolute zero and uses degrees the same size as Fahrenheit

is the general category not tied to Fahrenheit unit size

Surface Forms

absolute scale singular
absolute scales plural

Morphology

absolute + scale

The phrase is compositionally interpretable as 'a scale that is absolute/fixed,' so a learner who knows 'absolute' and 'scale' can infer it refers to a type of measurement scale with a fixed reference point. However, the specific technical meaning (temperature measured from absolute zero, e.g. Kelvin) is specialised domain knowledge and not fully predictable from the constituent words alone, making the expression only partly transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Absolute scale comes from the idea of starting a temperature scale at absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature. Measuring from that fixed 'zero' point gives values that are truly 'absolute' rather than relative, so scientists use the scale for accurate measurements.