this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2024
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How so? Absolute zero is the coldest possible temperature, it's physically impossible for an object to be colder. Saying that's arbitrary is like saying it's arbitrary to define 0 m/s as not moving.
Well, technically...
If the earth rotates but the object doesnt does it move?
If the object remains still in space but the earth moves away from it, does it move?
Every decision is arbitrary in some way. We, as humans, defined it would be better to arrange the periodic table a certain way, based on characteristics of the elements, but the characteristics chosen are arbitrary. We could've just chosen a different set for ordering, like alphabetical.
Tho, that's a correct (IIRC) yet weird usage of "arbitrary", and since language exists to talk, not to be correct, we might as well not use this definition of arbitrary and stick to what conveys information better.
Edit: I'm wrong! perhaps "correct" was the word I meant to say, not sure tho.
It’s still assuming a scale. It’s actually worse because the scale is implied by context.
Zero kelvin is very contextually useful. Put very simply it literally relates to the motion of atoms. At zero, they move zero.
What? What context? The scale is the same as Celsius which is derived from the properties of water. And 0K is when there is absolutely no heat energy in the thing being measured. There is no context where this is not the case.
The one where a human is speaking in English and referring to a season and the temperature is more than significant context. I hope this helped you; it seems that you’re one of those people who lack the capacity to infer from available data.
Being condescending actually doesn't help a conversation.
People don't use Kelvin when referring to seasons. Sure, there's plenty of ambiguity if someone says it's 32° out without specifying the units, and you can infer from context, but that has nothing to do with Kelvin starting at absolute zero. Saying "degrees" immediately rules out Kelvin as a unit.
The context of.. reading the fabric of the universe?
You're right, that is totally irrelevant to.. a physicist.
I see you're trolling, so I look forward to your condescending response, but to be successfully condescending you have to be at least somewhat convincing in displaying intelligence, if you can manage that then this whole argumentative act will go much better and people will get much angrier.
TLDR, Try the same troll tactic but with less incompetence for better results.
Halving something requires a scale...
The scale doesn't matter, double is always double. No matter if expressed in 1m is half of 2m, or 3ft is half of 6ft. Same is true for temperature, als long as the zero point is fixed.
Scale always matters, it is the anchor point for shared communication.
Double is a scale in itself, it assumes the first thing as 1 and the second thing as 2. The are no other scales needed when I say something is double the other thing. The other thing is the scale here.
holy shit lol