The Celsius scale defines 0 °C as the freezing point of water and 100 °C as the boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure. Proposed by Anders Celsius in 1742, it is the everyday temperature unit in all countries except the US, Belize, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Liberia.
Real-world: Room temperature is about 20 °C. Normal body temperature is 37 °C. Typical fridge setting is 4 °C. European winter can reach −20 °C; desert summer 45+ °C.
Read full celsius reference →The kelvin is the SI base unit of thermodynamic temperature. Its zero point is absolute zero — the theoretical coldest possible temperature. Water freezes at 273.15 K and boils at 373.15 K. Note: there is no "degree" symbol with kelvin, only "K".
Real-world: Room temperature ≈ 293 K. Water boils at 373 K. The Sun's surface is 5778 K. Deep space is about 2.7 K.
Read full kelvin reference →