What Does K Mean In Temperature? The Astonishing Facts

Last Updated on January 13, 2022 by Fabiola L.

In aquaponics, we often hear about the importance of temperature in our ecosystem. But, what does K mean in Temperature? Read this article to learn all the interesting details of temperature and what does K means in temperature!

It is always a great idea to become a deeper expert in certain concepts of aquaponics. Temperature is often mentioned. But we don’t truly understand the history and details of how the concept of temperature came to be. 

This is why we decided to write this interesting article to answer the important question:  What does K mean in temperature? I think we all remember learning about K in high school chemistry, but let’s get into real details. 

Keep reading to become an expert in Kelvin and its relation to temperature.

What Is The Kelvin Scale And Where Did It Come From?

Everything runs off of energy. Energy is essentially heat which moves things. You can look at all electrical items in terms of how much energy or heat is needed for them to run.  

This is why temperature is very important. You can assess the minimum amount of energy to run a TV. Then look at it in terms of how much thermodynamic heat must be generated to create this energy.  

In fact, it is the most crucial measurement in thermodynamics! 

The Kelvin Scale is the basis for measuring thermodynamic temperature. The unique thing about this scale is that it has an absolute zero, equivalent to zero on the scale. This absolute zero is considered the point where all molecular movement stops.

Thus, nothing is ever considered to be a temperature of zero K.  According to Science direct, “The size of the degree Kelvin (K) has been chosen, however, so as to be consistent with the degree Celsius of the earlier ideal gas temperature scale.”  

This scale was invented by William Johnson Kelvin from Ireland in the late 1800s. Kelvin was a scientist and was known to invent many other things. In fact, it is said that he invented over 50 different things! 

William Johnson Kelvin was deemed a knight by the British Royal party for his accomplishments in the scientific field. He published a book called, On an Absolute Thermometric Scale. This argued for the need to create this system of thermodynamic measurement.  

His ideas were officially approved at the General Conference of Weights and Measures in 1954. After that, science was changed forever.  

In this scale, the freezing point is measured at 273.16K. The boiling point for water in the kelvin scale is 373.16. There is a special formula used to convert K into celsius. 

kelvin to celsius

Converting Kelvin To Celsius

The formula is K = C + 273.16°.  Celsius is a different way to measure temperature. In order to find celsius, you convert the temperature from the K scale using the formula above.  

So, 0 K is equivalent to negative 273.16c (-273.16). 

The kelvin is not considered to be a degree. It is its own unit. So when measuring temperature using the Kelvin Scale, you just label it the number followed by K.  

According to Science Direct, “The temperature scale now in general use is the Celsius scale, based nominally on the melting point of ice at 0°C and the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure at 100°C.”  This means that the Celsius scale is based on different measurements than the Kelvin Scale.

Celsius developed based around the point at which ice melted. While Kelvin is based on where no more molecules move.  

The Kelvin scale allows for a lot more room for measurement, especially for scientific experiments. Whereas the Celsius scale is more useful in common life. Most people care mostly about the temperature for human needs like measuring the weather or water temperature. 

In these everyday situations, there is no need to use the Kelvin Scale. So when do we most commonly see the use of Kelvin Temperature?

Some of the most common measurements the kelvin scale is useful it is for measuring color and noise temperature. Each color radiates a frequency which creates some kind of heat. Every color has different frequencies and, therefore, different temperatures.

Red color usually measures about 4000k while blue colors hit around 7500k. If you want to simulate daylight, you can create a color that is around 5600k.

Kelvin Temperature

This is useful for aquaponics growers who are using lights to grow their plants. You can learn more about the exact light frequencies and temperatures to simulate the most perfect environment for your system. 

As mentioned before, Kelvin temperature is also used to measure noise. This helps engineers and scientists assess how noisy a circuit is. There are many frequencies that humans cannot hear or detect.  

Measuring temperature will help indicate to us that there is a sound being generated. This scale has been very useful in many different inventions.  

Also, the Kelvin scale allows for extremely low and high temperatures to be recorded to a unit. Prior to this invention, people were only using Celsius and Fahrenheit to measure temperature. This left out so much of the thermodynamic scale.  

Temperature is not only important for science, but it is important to aquaponics owners. This is because certain plants and fish need specific temperatures to survive. 

The main reason fish need specific water temperatures is because it affects metabolism. Metabolism is the ability of fish to process and digest food. Fish cannot metabolize their food if the temperature is too cold. This could result in death.

Temperature also affects the blood flow and activity of fish. Although you may feel that temperature is a minor thing, it has huge impacts.

This is why we think it’s important to understand the question: What does K mean in temperature? Using the K scale can help you take more diverse and specific temperature measurements.    They sell special thermometers that measure both K and Celsius.  

If you are interested, you can find them at many stores. Hopefully, you will leave this article a Kelvin Scale expert!

Feel free to comment and ask questions below.