# Does the limited range in Celsius temps seem bizarre to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773 "2012-12-02T18:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/21 "2012-12-02T20:08:52Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > By comparison, celsius is totally arbitrary. Basing a scale on the freezing and boiling points of water is great for laboratory use but meaningless for everyday life. At least in Canada, the freezing and boiling parts of water fall well within “ordinary experience.” For example, the temperature is currently below freezing (directly relevant re: precipitation, as people have mentioned above), and today I made green tea on my programmable kettle, so I needed the water just below boiling (90o). ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/22 "2012-12-02T20:13:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Only 43 increments of temperature. I think I’ve got this nailed. Here in my secret underground lab, I’ve discovered a way to separate numbers into smaller components. I’m thinking of calling it the “decimal point.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/23 "2012-12-02T20:17:54Z")
Most metric measurements have some correlation to English measurements. A meter and a yardstick. A liter and a quart. Rough approximations of what the other side is talking about. But temperature?? It’s like Alice in _Through the Looking Glass_. People sweating at 38 degrees. Home thermostats at 22 degrees. Yes, I could eventually adapt if a gun was held to my head. But, come on. Its weird. I don’t want to use decimal points to discuss weather or how hot it is in my house. I’m very comfortable with metric in a chem or physics lab. I’m trained in electronics and use k ohms and milliamps all the time. I prefer not using metric in my real day to day life. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/24 "2012-12-02T20:20:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Because people never boil things, or encounter. Do you really measure the temperature of water when making ice or boiling a pot? The OP is arguing that Fahrenheit is a more useful scale for measuring atmospheric temperature for everyday living. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/25 "2012-12-02T20:22:15Z")
Wait, there are people out there who can actually feel a difference in temperature of a single Fahrenheit degree? It takes three or four degrees before I notice, which makes it kind of silly to have such a fine scale. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/26 "2012-12-02T20:24:07Z")
I wonder if this will be moved into Great Debates. 😃 I’ve never used a thermometer to tell me when something is boiling. I’ve always been able to make do with other indications. Like, the spontaneous formation of bubbles of steam in the water. That’s a dead giveaway. Regarding ice, that’s exactly my point. Most people encounter sub-freezing temperatures. With the celsius scale, these normal temperatures are expressed as negative values. With the fahrenheit scale, you still have nice simple two-digit positive numbers until you get into extremely cold temperatures well below the freezing point, and outside most people’s normal range of experience. Now - if we really wanted a nice, intellectually consistent temperature scale, we’d do everything in Kelvin. The ordinary range of of human experience ranges from about 260 to 310 kelvin. I always find it rather interesting to think about that - what a narrow band of reality we inhabit. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/27 "2012-12-02T20:29:32Z")
I notice a degree in my house. I can vacuum and mop comfortably at 73. I’m sweating a little at 74. Watching tv on the sofa 74 feels good. I pull my afghan over me at 73 on damp days. Damp always feels colder in the winter. Outside? I agree a degree difference doesn’t matter. > [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, there are people out there who can actually feel a difference in temperature of a single Fahrenheit degree? It takes three or four degrees before I notice, which makes it kind of silly to have such a fine scale. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/28 "2012-12-02T20:37:50Z")
the degree ratio is 1:1.8 that is not much difference for human comfort. your HVAC settings and control functions take place over a greater number of degrees than that. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/29 "2012-12-02T20:48:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Sorry, I meant to write -10 to 38C. 48 increments of temperature. Thats 14 to 100 Fahrenheit or 86 increments of temperature. > > Of course in the arctic I know it gets 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. But few people live there. -40 C oddly enough equals -40 F. > [http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm](http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm) And it’s not uncommon for us here in Australia to get to 45-46 during summer - we had 40 last week for example. No, it’s not confusing or limiting, it’s what we know. I doubt you could tell the difference between 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit, just as 17 and 18 C feel pretty much the same. (You do know what 45C feels like though!). And it seems logical that water boils at 100 and freezes at 0, nice even measurements. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/30 "2012-12-02T20:58:40Z")
I don’t mind the C scale at all, 10 cold, 20 cool, 30 warm, 35 Hot, 40 Home. I live in Houston tis about 28c right now. It takes a while to get used to it and I often have trouble translating between the two systems but I am trying, I spend time in Canada and Europe. I still think in Fahrenheit **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/31 "2012-12-02T21:07:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Most metric measurements have some correlation to English measurements. A meter and a yardstick. A liter and a quart. Rough approximations of what the other side is talking about. > > But temperature?? It’s like Alice in _Through the Looking Glass_. People sweating at 38 degrees. Home thermostats at 22 degrees. Yes, I could eventually adapt if a gun was held to my head. But, come on. Its weird. I don’t want to use decimal points to discuss weather or how hot it is in my house. > > I’m very comfortable with metric in a chem or physics lab. I’m trained in electronics and use k ohms and milliamps all the time. I prefer not using metric in my real day to day life. The reason for your confusion could be that: Celsius isn’t metric. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/32 "2012-12-02T21:12:41Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Regarding ice, that’s exactly my point. Most people encounter sub-freezing temperatures. With the celsius scale, these normal temperatures are expressed as negative values. So what? The mathematical concept of negative numbers won’t hurt you. And have you noticed how, at sub-freezing temperatures, the properties of the outside world abruptly change? There is a clear, natural datum - water freezes, roads get dangerous, snow falls instead of rain, etc. The zero point of the Fahrenheit scale is essentially meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/33 "2012-12-02T21:16:49Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > Do you really measure the temperature of water when making ice or boiling a pot? The OP is arguing that Fahrenheit is a more useful scale for measuring atmospheric temperature for everyday living. No, generally, I don’t - but the point is, the Celsius system is pegged to something very tangible, not some wooly, ill-defined concept of being comfy. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/34 "2012-12-02T21:18:27Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > So what? The mathematical concept of negative numbers won’t hurt you. > > And have you noticed how, at sub-freezing temperatures, the properties of the outside world abruptly change? There is a clear, natural datum - water freezes, roads get dangerous, snow falls instead of rain, etc. > > The zero point of the Fahrenheit scale is essentially meaningless. OMG you just proved **Anthem** right, the Universe does invert when you hit the negative scale, wow man that is well… **Kozmik** … Sorry I could not help myself , sorry for the hijack ::slinks away, promises to play nice:: **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/35 "2012-12-02T21:18:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I notice a degree in my house. I can vacuum and mop comfortably at 73. I’m sweating a little at 74. I think you just made an argument for smaller units still. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/36 "2012-12-02T21:20:43Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > And it’s not uncommon for us here in Australia to get to 45-46 during summer - we had 40 last week for example. > > No, it’s not confusing or limiting, it’s what we know. I doubt you could tell the difference between 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit, just as 17 and 18 C feel pretty much the same. (You do know what 45C feels like though!). And it seems logical that water boils at 100 and freezes at 0, nice even measurements. So you’re…_not_ from Mars? :dubious: I agree with this. Especially given the variations in thermometers, a 1-degree difference on either scale isn’t really noticeable. For outdoor temperatures, I generally view it in 5-degree blocks anyway: “Just above zero,” “almost 20” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/37 "2012-12-02T21:50:56Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > No, generally, I don’t - but the point is, the Celsius system is pegged to something very tangible, not some wooly, ill-defined concept of being comfy. And other than being intellectually satisfying in an obsessive sort of way, this is irrelevant. Yes, the “endpoints” of the Celsius scale have meaning. The endpoints of the Fahrenheit scale have utility, in that they cover the range of normal atmospheric temperature experience. Remembering that water freezes at 32F won’t hurt you. And with that, the only remotely debatable advantage of the celsius system for everyday use is eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/38 "2012-12-02T22:05:50Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > “Wow, I can’t believe this apple pie only has 6 slices! It should have 8! How do people get by with only 6 slices of pie?” This. I find it amusing to see people convinced their preferred scale is somehow more natural or useful. I recall another thread where someone argued feet and inches were intrinsically more useful than metric measures. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/39 "2012-12-02T22:10:48Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > And other than being intellectually satisfying in an obsessive sort of way, this is irrelevant. Yes, the “endpoints” of the Celsius scale have meaning. The endpoints of the Fahrenheit scale have utility, in that they cover the range of normal atmospheric temperature experience. > > Remembering that water freezes at 32F won’t hurt you. And with that, the only remotely debatable advantage of the celsius system for everyday use is eliminated. I’ll stop using it right away. What was I thinking! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773/40 "2012-12-02T22:42:36Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > I find it amusing to see people convinced their preferred scale is somehow more natural or useful. I recall another thread where someone argued feet and inches were intrinsically more useful than metric measures. Yeah, I’m going to bookmark this thread and use it in the future when folks argue that people at SDMB are more intelligent than average. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-limited-range-in-celsius-temps-seem-bizarre-to-you/642773.md?page=3)