The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Temperature is a thermodynamic term (i.e., referring to the supply, use, or conversion of energy) referring to the average thermal energy in a system. (Thermal energy, or heat, is a type of kinetic energy, which is due to the rate of vibration of ato ms and molecules.) The distribution of temperature within a system determines the direction of any heat flow, which occurs from regions of higher to lower temperature (i.e., from higher to lower thermal density).
Temperature is expressed in terms of units of degrees (°), designated as a value on one of several scales. On the Fahrenheit (F) scale, the freezing point of pure water (at sea level) has a temperature value of 32°F, while the boiling point occurs at of 212°F. The Centigrade (or Celsius) scale is used by most of the world's scientists, and is the recommended unit of temperature in the International System of Units (or SI). On the Centigrade scale, water freezes at 0°C and it boils at 100°C. The Kelvin scale is less-well known, being used mostly by physicists. The Kelvin scale sets 0K at "absolute zero;" this is an extremely cold temperature at which no atomic or molecular vibration occurs (this is the coldest temperature that is physically possible).
The various scales for measuring temperature are all inter-convertible, as follows: