Celsius

Celsius is the scale of measure for temperature.

• It is also called the Centigrade scale (centigrade means divided into 100).
• It is a standard Imperial metric.

Description (Specifications)

The Celsius scale is a system for measuring temperature. It is divided into degrees (symbol º) and is based around the freezing and boiling points of water (H₂O).

• The standard abbreviation is C.

Vertical Celsius Scale

Temperature Benchmarks

• 0ºC is the point at which water freezes (transforms from a liquid into a solid: ice) under an atmospheric pressure of 1 atm.
• 100ºC is the point at which water boils (transforms from a liquid into a gas: steam or water vapor) under an atmospheric pressure of 1 atm.
• The coronas (outer layers) of stars have temperatures measured in thousands of ºC.

The Kelvin Scale: Absolute Zero

The lowest temperature that is theoretically possible is -273.15ºC (absolute zero). At this temperature, the thermally induced motion of all particles stops, leaving only quantum mechanically induced fluctuations due to zero-point energy. It is often customary in science to rescale the Celsius Scale from this absolute value, redefining it as the zero value while maintaining the Centigrade gradations. This scale is called the Kelvin Scale (K), for which 0 K is the temperature of absolute zero, and according to which water-ice melts at 273.15 K, and boils at 373.15 K at a Standard Pressure of 1.0 atm.

Term Usage Example

The mean surface temperature of Terra, the human homeworld, is approximately 15º Celsius.

History & Background (Dossier)

The Celsius scale was defined as a means of defining temperature on Terra prior to the foundation of the Terran Confederation: it is named for Anders Celsius, a Terran astronomer born around -2803. Technologists found the Celsius scale useful as the concept of the Technology Level and standardized ideas about sophont society development began to take form.

Habitability Range

Habitability range indicates the range of temperatures that humans can typically survive within.

The values provided below represent a very low technological level, typically somewhere around TL–1 (a level of technology capable of providing suitable clothing and shelter). Use of more advanced technology widens the range of temperatures that can be endured and increases the level of comfort.

• -20° C is the lower limit of human habitability (Low Temperatures).
• 0°C is the lower limit for human comfort (Low Temperatures).
• 15°C is the optimum temperature for human settlement (Moderate Temperatures).
• 30°C is the upper limit of human comfort (High Temperatures).
• 50°C is the upper limit of human habitability (Very High Temperatures).

Other sophont species are generally adapted to different temperature ranges.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), 615.
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Celsius. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.