\▐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.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
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
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6247-8_6634
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-6246-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-6247-8
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics