Why Was the Celsius Temperature Scale Upside Down?

TL;DR

The Celsius temperature scale was initially upside down, with boiling water at 0 degrees and freezing at 100 degrees, a convention he followed from previous scales. Celsius himself did not create the modern temperature scale; it was established by his successors at Uppsala University. His key contribution was developing reliable reference points for temperature measurement, which led to the eventual naming of the scale after him.

Transcript

DEREK: How did Celsius define his scale? >> MICHAEL: Uh... He took the temperature water freezes at and said that's zero and then he took the temperature it boils at and says that's a hundred. And he figured a hundred was a good amount of demarcations to make in between the two. Right? >> DEREK: Yeah. Except that's not what he did. MICHAEL: ... Read More

Key Insights

• 😥 Celsius played a crucial role in establishing fixed temperature reference points and creating a universal system of temperature measurement.
• ⚖️ The Celsius scale was initially upside down, following the convention of the existing scale on the thermometer.
• ⚖️ The scale was later reversed, possibly by Carl Linnaeus, and became known as the Celsius scale.
• ⚖️ The scale was renamed Celsius to align it with other temperature scales and eliminate confusion with other meanings of "centigrade."
• ⚖️ The Celsius scale is no longer defined by water's phase transition points but by the Kelvin scale.
• 🍁 Celsius' name is immortalized on weather maps worldwide, despite not creating the scale himself.
• 👻 Celsius' contributions helped eliminate the need for multiple unreliable temperature scales and allowed for accurate temperature recording and sharing among scientists.

Questions & Answers

Q: Did Celsius create the Celsius temperature scale?

No, it was his successors at Uppsala University who created the scale after his death.

Q: Why was the Celsius scale initially upside down?

Celsius followed the convention of the existing scale on the thermometer, which had zero degrees for the boiling point of water and increasing numbers down to the freezing point.

Q: Why did Carl Linnaeus claim to have reversed the Celsius scale?

It is unclear who exactly reversed the scale, but Linnaeus claimed to have done so when ordering a thermometer from the instrument maker at Uppsala.

Q: Why was the Celsius scale renamed?

The scale was renamed Celsius by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in 1948 to eliminate confusion with the term "centigrade."

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Celsius did not create the Celsius temperature scale, but his successors at Uppsala University did.

• Celsius established fixed temperature reference points and developed a universal system of temperature measurement.

• The scale was later renamed Celsius to eliminate confusion with other meanings of "centigrade."