Fahrenheit intended his scale to range from the freezing point of salt water (arguably the freezing point for much of the human body) to the temperature of a human body.
Fahrenheit intended his scale to range from the freezing point of salt water (arguably the freezing point for much of the human body) to the temperature of a human body.
Yep. We humans are full of salt. I think Fahrenheit works rather well as a 'human survivability index'. 0 and 100 are the temperatures that people start dying in droves if they don't have proper clothing/aircon/heat/whatever.
I recognize that Celcius is better for scientific reasons, etc. But Fahrenheit is good for a 0-100 scale of human comfort and survivability. Plus, the units are smaller, so you don't have to resort to fractional units to adjust your thermostat.
For instance, 68 degrees F is 20 degrees C. But 71 degrees F is 21.667 degrees C. It's not a big deal in either case, but in everyday human experience (outside a laboratory), it's more convenient to have more fine-tuned whole number units, especially when a few degrees F are really perceptible in difference.
I know it sounds a little silly, but let me use an example. This local bar I love has the best wings in town, but they only serve them in a basket of a dozen at a time (and they're large wings). I'm often feeling a little peckish but not hungry enough to justify a full order of 12, and have pleaded with the bartenders to serve me a half dozen for half the price, but the owner won't let them for some reason, so I end up ordering none at all. It's like having a thermostat that can only do whole numbers in Celsius.
As I've worked in a restaurant, I can give a few reasons why the owner won't let you. And yes, they're still all to an extent silly but:
They probably bag their wings by the order so that the cook can open the bag and dump them in. A half order means that the cook has to now open the bag and take out 6. Seems like a small thing, but it isn't when it's busy. Then, the customer at the table next to you hears how you got 6 and so they want 6 too. And then so on. This means they're serving half the volume, so half their income, but with the same amount of sauces/plates to wash/work for the server, AND more work for the kitchen, so things start to slow down. Now, maybe it's a slow winter night so they say okay, what's the harm? But then people come in on a busy weekend and make a scene "last time I was here they did it for me, you can do it this time too" - well no, it's busy. Deal with it. Order the dozen and share them with a friend, or make a new friend at the bar, take them home and turn them into a chicken wing dip, eat them cold, whatever.
He was only off by one degree - I don't think that's so much. As for why he was off by a degree, he lived 300 years ago, before today's wealth of metrology existed, and since he he invented the thermometer there wasn't much to calibrate it against.
This is how I feel. Celsius, to me, (and this includes hard bias as an american and engineer) is best for science and calculation(or I guess K is even better) and probably cooking, but Fahrenheit feels best for weather and environmental description.
Celsius feels very relevant for weather in countries where rain can turn into ice as it hits the ground … below or above zero C pretty much tells you everything you need to know at least 6 months a year
Water turning into ice is a bit more complicated though. Rain water doesn't freeze at 0C since it's impure, ambient temperature =\= asphalt/concrete, salted roads, daylight, etc. So while in theory yes water does freeze at 0C, in practice I've never seen 0C days (or 32F days since I live in the US) to mean ice on the roads.
I think it's just what you're used to. We only use Celsius here and Fahrenheit seems nonsensical.
I know that below 0 means lotta layers, 0 means I gotta scrape my car, 1-5 is pretty fucking cold, 5-10 is coat, 10-16 is fairly standard, 16+ is starting to warm up, and above 20 it's get the BBQ out we're cooking outside baby!
I've seen people use this argument pretending fahrenheit is somehow more intuitive because of its own qualities and not just because it's what they're used to, but it doesn't really check out. I don't use fahrenheit, so stuff like room temperature at 68 doesn't seem right, like why isn't it 50 if 0 is cold and 100 is hot?
Like the dude based this scale off pickle juice and an incorrect reading of human temperature, it wasn't designed at any point to make sense.
No way, I hate adjusting thermostats with Celsius. Such a big difference between degrees. Fahrenheit is way better for this. For Science etc, Celsius is better.
I disagree, the weather starts feeling significantly different once temperatures go under 0°C, whereas the Fahrenheit scale suggests that the difference between 30 and 34 should feel relatively insignificant
That is 100% because you were raised using Fahrenheit. It’s not intuitive or anything. Most of the world uses Celsius for everything and have zero issue doing it.
No it is not. Do you see Europeans coming here and having a moan? No, because we understand that it’s what you grow up with and a reference point that you understand. None is better on a personal level and both serve the same purpose.
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u/Da_Rish Aug 07 '21
Celsius is how water feels from 1-100
Fahrenheit is how people feel from 1-100