Fahrenheit

The Fahrenheit temperature scale was developed by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, a German physicist, in 1724. It remains in common use primarily in the United States, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and a few other territories.

Here's a breakdown of key reference points on the Fahrenheit scale:

• 32°F: The freezing point of pure water.
• 212°F: The boiling point of pure water under standard atmospheric pressure.
• 98.6°F: The approximate average human body temperature.
• 0°F: Originally based on the freezing point of a specific saltwater solution, a mixture of ice, water, and ammonium chloride, which Fahrenheit considered the lowest attainable temperature at the time.

Fahrenheit chose these reference points and divisions for his scale based on early temperature measurement techniques and his desire for a scale with finer divisions than existing ones. The saltwater solution provided a reliable low point, and he initially aimed for 100 degrees as the human body temperature, which was later refined.

While most of the world uses the Celsius scale (°C) as the standard for measuring temperature, Fahrenheit remains in use primarily in the United States and a few other regions.

In scientific fields, Celsius is often used alongside the Kelvin scale, where absolute zero (the lowest possible temperature) is defined as −273.15°C (0 K).