From owner-biophysics@net.bio.net Wed Apr 20 23:00:00 1994
Path: biosci!bcm!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!sunic!ericom!eua.ericsson.se!euah01i3c14!ekarge
From: ekarge@eua.ericsson.se (Rolf Engstrand)
Newsgroups: bionet.biophysics
Subject: Re: Discussion: What is "temperature"?
Date: 21 Apr 1994 14:48:09 GMT
Organization: Ellemtel Telecom Systems Labs, Stockholm, Sweden
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Message-ID: <2p63n9$kpc@euas20.eua.ericsson.se>
References: <runsun.3.016C02B2@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: ekarge@eua.ericsson.se
NNTP-Posting-Host: euah01i3c14.eua.ericsson.se

The temperature is proportional to the mean kinetic energy of the particles.       

Ie: m * v * v / 2 

Where m is the mass of the particle and v is the velocity. In other words 
this is what you refer to as molecular movement. 


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Rolf Engstrand                       PHONE:    +46 8 7195779
Core Unit MEST                       FAX:      +46 8 7195319 
Microelectronic Systems Technology   E-MAIL:   rolf@ericad.ericsson.se
ÄL/EKA/S/RD                          MEMO:     EKA.EKARGE
S-125 82  STOCKHOLM
Sweden



In article 016C02B2@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu, runsun@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu () writes:
> Don't know if this is the right group to ask this simple question ( I hope the
> answer will be simple too): What is "temperature" ?
> 
> It is a term we use more often than any others. When you put your finger into
> a cup of water of 95C, you feel hot (I hope so). What do you really "feel"? 
> Temperature? What does that mean? There must be something different for
> that cup of water (let say, cup A) compared to cup B with temp = 50C. Molecular
> movement? Vibrational displacement? What cause(s) that? Internal energy? Or,
> just "energy state"? Is there any term that we can use to represent this 
> state, just like that we use "Pressure" and "volume" for two different aspects
> of a system? What is the relationship between this term and the "temperature"? 
> 
> I've been thinking this problem for some time and, to my knowledge, there 
> isn't any text book or articles talking about the inside world of 
> "temperature". For unknown reason I am not satisfied with  the present 
> definition of temperature at all. Any idea? Or, any suggestion of reading is 
> also welcome. 
> 
> Run-Sun Pan
> Biological Science, Purdue Univ.
> runsun@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu
>  





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