Cold
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This article is about the temperature. For other uses, see Cold (disambiguation).
Cold refers to the condition or perception of having low temperature, it is the absence of heat or warmth. Many things are associated with cold, such as ice and the color blue.
The coldest possible temperature that can be reached is Absolute zero, which is 0K on the Kelvin scale, a thermodynamic temperature scale, and −273.15° on the Celsius scale. Absolute zero is also precisely equivalent to 0° R on the Rankine scale (also a thermodynamic temperature scale), and −459.67 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale.
[edit] Notable cold locations
- The Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known natural location in the universe, with a temperature that is estimated at 1K (kelvin) (−272.15° C/−457.87° F).[1]
- Neptune's moon Triton has a surface temperature of -235° C (-390° F), the coldest known temperature in the solar system.[2]
- Uranus with an atomspheric temperature of -215 °C (-355 °F).[3]
- Saturn with a temperature of -175 °C (-285 °F) at cloud tops.[4]
- Mercury, despite being close to the Sun, is actually cold during its night, with a temperature of about -170 °C (-275 °F). Mercury is cold during its night because it has no atmosphere to trap in heat from the Sun.[5]
- Jupiter with a temperature of -145 °C (-230 °F) at the cloud tops.[6]
- Mars has a temperature of about -125 °C (-195 °F).[7]
- The coldest continent on Earth is Antarctica.[8] The coldest place on Earth is the Antarctic Plateau,[9] an area of Antarctica around the South Pole that has an altitude of around 3000 meters. The lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth of −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) was recorded there at Vostok Station on 21 July 1983[10] (See List of weather records).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Boomerang Nebula boasts the coolest spot in the Universe". NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. June 20, 1997. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/releases/97/coldspot.html. Retrieved on July 8, 2009.
- ^ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/neptune_worldbook.html
- ^ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/uranus_worldbook.html
- ^ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/saturn_worldbook.html
- ^ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/mercury_worldbook.html
- ^ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/jupiter_worldbook.html
- ^ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/mars_worldbook.html
- ^ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8070
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/polar-explorers-reach-coldest-place-on-earth-433074.html
- ^ Budretsky, A.B. (1984). "New absolute minimum of air temperature" (in Russian). Bulletin of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat) (105). http://www.aari.aq/publication/abs_min/abs_min.html.
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