What Is Absolute Zero?

[RuneMan 0]

Absolute Zero is the temperature at which the molecular motion ceases and the average kinetic energy of molecules becomes zero. Absolute Zero is the lowest attainable temperature. It is -273 in the Celsius scale.In other words. at -273 Celcius everything freezes and the molecular motion (molecules move around hitting other molecules) stops...This is physics

[BhajunSingh 0]

Absolute zero is also 0K (Kelvin), which is the SI unit of temperature. Movement is theorized to stop at absolute zero because if ever reached and sustained (which is theoretically impossible), all heat energy will be removed from even the molecules, and without heat there is no molecular motion

[RuneMan 0]

ok.... so you know more complex language than me...cool :-)

[FirefoxRocks 0]

Absolute zero is 0K, -459.67F or -273.15C.It is when there is the maximum absence of heat, causing molecules to stop moving.It is theoretically impossible to obtain this temperature. No substance has reached a temperature of 0K as of this time.Kelvin is the SI unit of temperature.Celsius is the Canadian unit of temperature.Fahrenheit is the American unit of temperature.Rankine is, well, a unit of measuring temperature (rarely used I think).

[Tailson 0]

I've never heard of Rankine either.

[Plenoptic 0]

Ya we've talked about Absolute Zero in all my science classes since 7th grade and I'm in 10th now. It really is something worth trying to reach. They have come within like a tenth of a degree or something like that and the molecules were moving really really slow but they didn't actually hit it. I wonder if they ever will. although it may sound impossible it will be with the latest technology always coming out. I wonder if it will effect the object some how though. Ought to be interesting if they ever do reach it.

[BhajunSingh 0]

I've never heard of Rankine either.

Rankine is to Fahrenheit as Kelvin is to Celsius, and 0K and 0°R are both absolute zero. Basically,

0°C = 273.15K
0°F = 491.67°R

Rankine is one of 5 lesser known temperature scales apparantly...Besides Rankine, I only knew of one other, the Réaumur scale, but there are actualy a few others: the Delisle, Remer, and Newton scales...learn something new every day


Btw, why was this topic moved? I thought it seemed all right in the What is...? forum...
Edited August 28, 2006 by BhajunSingh (see edit history)

[detportal 0]

Basically, absolute zero is the lowest possible temperature where nothing could be colder and no heat energy remains in a substance. Absolute zero is the point at which atoms stop vibrating, or in more scientific terms "the fundamental particles of nature have minimal vibrational motion, retaining only quantum mechanical, zero-point energy-induced particle motion."By international agreement, absolute zero is defined as precisely: * 0 K on the Kelvin scale, which is a thermodynamic (absolute) temperature scale, and * ?273.15 ?C on the Celsius scale.Absolute zero is also precisely equivalent to? * 0 ?R on the Rankine scale (also a thermodynamic temperature scale although I have never heard of it, similar to Kelvin i guess), and * ?459.67 ?F on the Fahrenheit scale (slight disagreement to BhajunSingh's post, but this measurement came from Wikipedia )While scientists can not fully achieve a state of ?zero? heat energy in a substance, they have made great advancements in achieving temperatures ever closer to absolute zero (where matter exhibits odd quantum effects). In 1994, the NIST achieved a record cold temperature of 700 nK (billionths of a kelvin). In 2003, researchers at MIT eclipsed this with a new record of 450 pK (0.45 nK). NIST did similar things with their caesium fountain atomic clock project, cooling atoms down to almost absolute zero.

Edited November 27, 2006 by detportal (see edit history)

[-[Nero]- 0]

I assume most of you know what's the Universal Gas Law. Does it mean that pressure and volume is at infinity when temperature is at absolute zero?

[hts 0]

thats why Absolute Zero temperature cannot be reached.(I guess ).
ps: if you don`t know what Nero was talking about (the universal gas law) - here is some info about it: clicky

Edited December 5, 2006 by hts (see edit history)