Development of the Kelvin Absolute Temperature Scale •William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) was interested in Charles’s Law which states that when a gas is cooled by one degree Celsius, it’s volume drops by 1/273 –This would lead to zero volume at -273°C –How can matter exist without taking up space? •Thomson instead suggested that it was the energy of motion that decreased with temperature – At -273°C, the molecules cease motion and essentially not take up space –He called -273°C absolute zero because no further temperature reduction is possible. This later became known as 0 Kelvin.
Source and PDF WARNING (phys.ufl.edu)
>Development of the Kelvin Absolute Temperature Scale
•William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) was interested in Charles’s Law which states that when a gas is cooled by one degree Celsius, it’s volume drops by 1/273
–This would lead to zero volume at -273°C
–How can matter exist without taking up space?
•Thomson instead suggested that it was the energy of motion that decreased with temperature
– At -273°C, the molecules cease motion and essentially not take up space
–He called -273°C absolute zero because no further temperature reduction is possible. This later became known as 0 Kelvin.
[Source and PDF WARNING](http://www.phys.ufl.edu/courses/phy4550-6555c/spring09/milestones.pdf)
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