-20 degrees Celsius
-20 °CTemperature · definition
Celsius and Fahrenheit have shifted zero points. Differences are useful; “twice as hot” in °C or °F is not a physical temperature ratio.
Temperature
Just how hot is -20 degrees Celsius?
Below freezing
-20 °C
-4 °Fdegrees Fahrenheit
253.15 Kkelvin
01
-20 degrees Celsius-20 °CTemperature · definition
02
Water triple point0.01 °CTriple-point temperature · specified
Celsius and Fahrenheit zero points are offsets. Compare temperature differences, not ratios in °C or °F. The kelvin axis starts at absolute zero.
A little perspective
-20 degrees Celsius is 20.01 K cooler than Water triple point.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +
-20 degrees Celsius
Celsius and Fahrenheit have shifted zero points. Differences are useful; “twice as hot” in °C or °F is not a physical temperature ratio.
Water triple point
The triple point of water is 273.16 K for a specified isotopic composition at its equilibrium pressure. It is distinct from ordinary freezing water at atmospheric pressure.
IAPWS — Fundamental physical constants of water
The marked triple-point temperature is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Measurement details
Why these numbers?
The visual compares temperature with triple-point temperature. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.
Water triple point
0.01 °CTriple-point temperature · specified
The triple point of water is 273.16 K for a specified isotopic composition at its equilibrium pressure. It is distinct from ordinary freezing water at atmospheric pressure.
- Comparing
- Temperature ↔ Triple-point temperature
- Relative size
- Temperature comparisons use an absolute difference in kelvins rather than a multiplicative ratio.
How to read the visual
The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.
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