🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <C0r1Jw.FJB@knot.ccs.queensu.ca> polowin@chem.queensu.ca (Joel Polowin) writes:
>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:
>  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...

It's actually not very complicated. Fahrenheit set the freezing point
at the zero for his "cold solution," found that the freezing point of
water was 32 degrees above that, and then added 180 degrees (a nice,
easily-factorable number) to it before reaching the boiling point of water.

At least, this was always my impression.

      :=:=> Derek K. Miller                 dkmiller@unixg.ubc.ca
      Researcher, Alma Mater Society        thegrodd@tz.ucs.sfu.ca
      Room 230B - 6138 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z1
      Campus Mail Zone 1  phone (604) 822-6868  fax (604) 822-9019
      University of British Columbia, Canada

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