The kelvin (symbol: K) is the SI unit of temperature and is one of the seven SI base units. It is used to specify temperature on a thermodynamic (absolute) temperature scale where absolute zero—the lowest possible temperature where nothing could be colder and the least possible heat energy remains in a substance—is defined as being equivalent to zero kelvins (0 K).
The unit is named after the Irish physicist and engineer William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824 – 1907), who wrote of the need for an "absolute thermometric scale."
The official defination of kelvin per BIPM states
"The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water."
External Links
- http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/kelvin.html
- http://www1.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter2/2-1/2-1-1/kelvin.html
- http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/sec04.html
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