Kelvin definition

kĕlvĭn
kelvins
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A temperature scale in which zero occurs at absolute zero and each degree equals one kelvin. Water freezes at 273.15 K and boils at 373.15 K.
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A basic unit of temperature on this scale, equal to one degree Celsius.
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A unit of absolute temperature equal to 1/273.16 of the absolute temperature of the triple point of water. One kelvin degree is equal to one Celsius degree.
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British physicist who developed the Kelvin scale of temperature (1848) and supervised the laying of a trans-Atlantic cable (1866).
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Designating or of a scale of thermodynamic temperature measured from absolute zero (−273.16°C): the formula for converting Celsius to Kelvin is °K=°C + 273.16
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(person) (William Thomson) 1824-1907; Brit. physicist & mathematician.
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The SI unit used to measure temperature, the basic unit of the Kelvin scale. A difference of one degree Kelvin corresponds to the same temperature difference as a difference of one degree Celsius.
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A unit of measurement of temperature. Part of the SI system of measurement, the Kelvin (K) scale starts at absolute zero (-273.15). Each Kelvin degree is the same as a Celsius degree. As a result, 0ºC (freezing water) is equal to 273.15K, and 100ºC (boiling water) is equal to 373.15K. From British physicist and mathematician Lord William Thomas Kelvin (1824-1907). See color temperature and SI units.
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See K.
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In the International System of Units, the base unit of thermodynamic temperature; 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Shown as "K".
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A unit interval on the Kelvin scale.

The interval between the freezing and boiling points of water is 100 kelvins.

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A river in Scotland, running through Glasgow.
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A surname​.
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A male given name transferred from the surname; rather rare.
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Alternative capitalization of kelvin.
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British mathematician and physicist known especially for his work on heat and electricity. In 1848 he proposed a scale of temperature independent of any physical substance, which became known as the Kelvin scale.
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(usually as postpositioned adjective) A unit for a specific temperature on the Kelvin scale.

Ice melts above 273.15 kelvin.

Water boils above 373.15 kelvin.

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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
kelvin
Plural:
kelvins

Origin of kelvin

  • After First Baron Kelvin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Named after the Irish-born Scottish physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.

    From Wiktionary

Kelvin Sentence Examples

  • Kelvin had previously proposed to define an absolute scale of temperature independent of the properties of any particular substance in terms of Carnot's function by making F'(t) constant.

  • The great novelty in the ampere balances of Lord Kelvin was a joint or electric coupling, which is at once exceedingly flexible and yet capable of being constructed to carry with safety any desired current.

  • Kelvin ampere balances are made in two types - (i) a variable weight type suitable for obtaining the ampere value of any current within their range; and (2) a fixed weight type intended to indicate when a current which can be varied at pleasure has a certain fixed value.

  • An instrument of the latter type of considerable accuracy was designed by Lord Kelvin for the British Board of Trade Electrical Laboratory, and it is there used as the principal standard ampere balance.

  • In the use of ammeters in which the control is the gravity of a weight, such as the Kelvin ampere balances and other instruments, it should be noted that the scale reading or indication of the instrument will vary with the latitude and with the height of the instrument above the mean sea-level.

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