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\kel-vәn\ n [William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824–1907] (1968) (K) The SI unit of both temperature and difference between temperatures, equal to 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic triple point of water, i.e., the temperature and pressure at which all three phases of water – ice, liquid, and vapor – are in equilibrium. A change or difference of 1 K is exactly equal to 1° difference on the Celsius (formerly centigrade) scale, and the temperature 0°C corresponds to 273.15 K. Symbol K; the name “degree of Kelvin” (Symbol °K) was discontinued by international agreement in 1967.

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Gooch, J.W. (2011). Kelvin. In: Gooch, J.W. (eds) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Polymers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6247-8_6634

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