this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2024
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Today I Learned (TIL)

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

WTF is that thermometer image supposed to show?

[–] SuckMyWang 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

You are right, of course.

But I didn't even notice the red gauge you are referring to because I was way too distracted by the temperature range and especially unit of measurement on the right... milli Electron Volts per Kelvin... yeah, ok...

[–] SuckMyWang 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

Left is in common sense units, right is in intelligence units. There is no “freedom” (to be ignorant) units though no.

Also sorry for the burn but it is a deserving burn at least.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I am afraid I have to burn you back.

I speak SI, and that is actually the reason, why I questioned the metric on the right. You see, milli Electron Volt per Kelvin is neither a unit of temperature, nor does it make any other sense in this context that I am aware of.

But the thing is I just realized that there is no "Kelvin" on the right side, because the "K" in reality is a "k". Would have been clearer if they had used the subscript k~B~, as in "Boltzmann-Konstante".

Now it makes perfect sense, although it still is a somewhat weird unit to express a human body temperature in...

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I'm curious about what, exactly, you think makes using a scientific measurement ignorance just because it's not as culturally efficient.

Intransigence, maybe.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

There's nothing common sense about basing your system on the freezing and boiling point of pure water at sea level under specific barometric conditions. At least Fahrenheit was based on the chemical concoction he used to calibrate his thermometers, produced a reliable temperature point regardless of elevation. Water boils at 96 degrees where I reside.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Oh no, not that discussion again....

Just look at the right side of the thermometer in the image and forget all the over-complicated units of measurement from olden times, be it Fahrenheit, Celsius or some obscure eastern European equivalents.

They are all equally crappy definitions, if we are honest.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 3 months ago

Odd that people who count on their fucking fingers always think that.