On Thu, 16 Nov 2000 16:17:25 -0500 David Bowman
<David_Bowman@GEORGETOWNCOLLEGE.EDU> writes:
. Does anyone know how the Fahrenheit scale was determined?
-tony
I don't recall where I heard it but I believe that Fahrenheit
was a medical doctor.His temperature scale was based on
selecting the zero degree point for the thermometer when
the bulb was placed in the coldest place that was easily
obtainable; a mixture of ice and salt. He called this point
zero degrees Fahrenheit. The hundred degree point was
the temperature of the human body.
Using these two "fixed" points the temperature of melting
ice came to 32 F and the temperature of boiling water
came to 212 F.
Of course we now know that the temperature of ice and salt
mixtures varies with the amounts of salt and ice and the
temperature of the human bodies also varies with the
individuals' health, time of day and other factors.
Does anyone on this list have an historical reference
that give greater details concerning the origin of the
Fahrenheit thermometer scale?
Herb Gottlieb from New York City
(Where water never seems to boil at 212 F)