# drink -40F rum and die; T.C. Boyle/Drop City: Pan's death

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-40f-rum-and-die-t-c-boyle-drop-city-pans-death/233104>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 8, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-40f-rum-and-die-t-c-boyle-drop-city-pans-death/233104 "2004-03-08T08:18:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-40f-rum-and-die-t-c-boyle-drop-city-pans-death/233104/41 "2004-03-09T18:18:21Z")

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Whoops…Where I say “found scale increments to be” I mean “found the difference between boiling and freezing points of water to be.”

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**Author:** ![Seraphim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Seraphim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seraphim)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-40f-rum-and-die-t-c-boyle-drop-city-pans-death/233104/42 "2004-03-09T19:08:47Z")

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> [@robby](#):
>
> Do either of you have any evidence to support these assertions?
> 
> It is my understanding that it is no more meaningful to discuss temperatures less than zero Kelvin than it is to speak of volumes, masses, or pressures that are less than zero. All of these concepts are physically meaningless.

Gentlemen, welcome to the weirdness of [Negative Temperature.](http://www.maxwellian.demon.co.uk/art/esa/negkelvin/negkelvin.html) Apparently you _can_ reach negative kelvin temperatures, but _not by cooling._ Odd, huh? The reason why defies easy explanation, so you’ll have to read the link.

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**Author:** ![T.Mehr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@T.Mehr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Mehr)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-40f-rum-and-die-t-c-boyle-drop-city-pans-death/233104/43 "2004-03-10T11:20:53Z")

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> [@FriendRob](#):
>
> I’m almost at the end of Drop City and Pan’s still alive.  
> ☹

Sorry, **FriendRob**. I have to admit that I didn’t even think about it.

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