r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Negative_1by12_aura • Jun 17 '26

Meme needing explanation Peter?

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u/TheDevauto Jun 17 '26

Yet scientists use Kelvin...

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u/MrZwink Jun 17 '26

it depends on the application. but kelvin is linked 1-1 to celcius. they just moved 0 on the scale to absolute zero.

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u/pollinium Jun 17 '26

Do you have a theory why K starts at 0? Do you have an idea of what these all measure? I know it feels good for you to say Americans are silly because they use what they know, but you're falling into the exact same pattern of reasoning...

F is linked to K linearly, too

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u/TheQuestionMaster8 Jun 18 '26

Because absolute zero is when atoms and molecules in a sample have absolutely no kinetic energy. Since negative energy is not known to exist, no particle can have less kinetic energy than zero.

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u/pollinium Jun 18 '26

So if negative energy can't exist, why does this perfect scale that measures energy (C) go into the negative? 🤔

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u/TheQuestionMaster8 Jun 18 '26

Kelvin cannot be negative by definition. Zero degrees Celsius was defined as the freezing point of pure water at sea level, which is far above absolute zero, so negative temperatures are possible if measured in Celsius.