🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan12.150027.13866@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca> DMARTIN@vm.ucs.UAlberta.CA writes:
>> From: mcp@netcom.com (Craig Presnell)
>> equally dividing the points in between. Apparently Farenheit had the
>> same idea, but wanted something colder to be 0 degress, so alcohol
>> and ice were used. The question is, what was used to determine the
>> upper end of the scale ?
>
>Body temperature, or so I understand. With a "normal" body temperature of
>98.6, calling it 100 isn't that far off.

From _A History of Chemistry_ by J.R. Partington, Vol. 2, p. 747:

  Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (Danzig, 14 May 1686 - in Holland, 16
  September 1736) was the first to produce consistently reading
  thermometers, first filled with spirit of wine, later with mercury
  (1714-15), and introduced a temperature scale.  In 1724 he gave
  the freezing point of water as 32', the boiling-point at 28 in.
  mercury pressure 212', the body temperature 96', and 0' the
  temperature of a mixture of ice, water, and sal ammoniac or
  common salt...

Joel Polowin
polowin@silicon.chem.queensu.ca, polowin@chem.queensu.ca,
polowinj@qucdn.queensu.ca