One example that is used to represent Stevens' conception of a ratio
scale, that is, a constant interval scale with an absolute zero, is the
Kelvin temperature scale which, unlike the Fahrenheit and Celsius
scales, has a absolute zero point representing the coldest temperature
that can be achieved.
But who knew that you could have "negative absolute" temperatures,
temperatures below absolute zero? But instead of being cold, these
temperature are hot, theoretically, hotter than infinity.
These are strange ideas but experimentally confirmed ones. For
popular accounts of the research showing negative absolute temps,
here is one from HuffPost:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/absolute-zero-record-setting-negative-temperature_n_2404666.html
To appreciate the weirdness associated with this research, consider
the following quote from the HuffPost article:
|To comprehend the negative temperatures scientists have now devised,
|one might think of temperature as existing on a scale that is actually a
|loop, not linear. Positive temperatures make up one part of the loop,
|while negative temperatures make up the other part. When temperatures
|go either below zero or above infinity on the positive region of this
scale,
|they end up in negative territory.
Science Daily has the following article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130104143516.htm
And the Max Planck Institute where the research was done has provided
this press release:
http://www.mpq.mpg.de/cms/mpq/en/news/press/13_01_04.html
The research was published in "Science" and the article can be accessed
here:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6115/52
Busy, busy, busy.
-Mike Palij
New York University
[email protected]
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