"Joseph B. Reid" wrote:
....
> You are both wrong. The change from centigrade to degrees Celsius was
> nothing more than a change of name, a change that was already curreent in
> Teutonic countries.
Ah, Joe, ever the stickler for accuracy, which of course is a quality
and not a fault. You've sent me back to the brochure to check my memory.
Yes, it was either CR 55 or CR 63 that chose the zero of the
"centesimal thermodynamic scale" to be 0.0100 degree below the triple
point of water and shunned the melting point of ice, on recommendation
of the CCTC. As part of those two resolutions the need for an absolute
thermodynamic scale with a single fundamental fixed point was recognized
and the joule was adopted as the unit for the quantiy of heat. (The two
resolutions are merged in the SI brochure's discussion and I don't know
which did what.)
And it was in CR 64 that the name "degree Celsius" was selected over
"degree centigrade" and "centesimal degree". So those resolutions were
independent, at least on paper, if not in discussions.
However, all three (CR 55, CR 63, and CR 64) were considered and
adopted at the 9th CGPM in 1948. I'll settle for a contemporaneous if
not concomitant relationship among these events.
Jim
--
Metric Methods(SM) "Don't be late to metricate!"
James R. Frysinger, CAMS http://www.metricmethods.com/
10 Captiva Row e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Charleston, SC 29407 phone/FAX: 843.225.6789
