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I was taught at primary school (in the mid-70s) that temperature was measured in "degrees Centigrade". Yet many people now seems to say "degrees Celsius". (I'm ignoring those of a certain age, of course, who still talk in "fahrenheit"!)

I've discovered that the education authorities actually got it wrong because Centigrade was officially renamed Celsius - in honour of the Swedish astronomer who invented the system - nearly 30years before I started my primary education. It looks like I'll have to get used to saying "Celsius"!

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Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

17 Aug 200522:31

I was taught at primary school (in the mid-70s) that temperature was measured in "degrees Centigrade". Yet many people now seems to say "degrees Celsius". (I'm ignoring those of a certain age, of course, who still talk in "fahrenheit"!) I've discovered that the education authorities actually got it wrong because Centigrade was officially renamed Celsius - in honour of the Swedish astronomer who invented the system - nearly 30years before I started my primary education. It looks like I'll have to get used to saying "Celsius"!

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

26 Aug 200511:13

Celsius is, of course, that name for the scale which is mandated by SI. Since we use SI, it is correct.

Perhaps, though, it would be more useful to use degrees Absolute (or degrees Kelvin), which, perhaps, would obviate the confusion.

Passing to the secondary issue of weather presentation, some points come to mind:

i. Why do the presenters insist on describing hot weather as 'good'? From whence does this judgement come? For many of us, hot weather is intolerable; personally, for example, I prefer cold, windy, overcast weather.

ii. So many presenters insist on widening certain vowels: from whence comes the "Wather from from wast."?

iii. Certain weather presenters have now come to swallow various syllables, making their delivery even more frgamented than hitherto. I know not who yesterday seemed to refer to something happening across "Engl' n' Wal' ".

iv. The mis-emphasis of certain words, which I had thought was being corrected in general (I seem to recall a debate about this in the seventies), is on the rise, it seems. For example, "The weather will be stormy from the." "word 'go', and a strong wind ..."

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

26 Aug 200521:33

>Perhaps, though, it would be more useful to use degrees Absolute (or degrees Kelvin), which, perhaps, would obviate the confusion.

Interesting idea but I don't think it would be as useful as celsius. I mean, a weather presenter (if using Kelvin) would then have to describe freezing as about 273 degrees, 10 celsius would be 283 and 20 celsius would become 293 degrees.

>Why do the presenters insist on describing hot weather as 'good'?

That's an anomaly of this country, probably as we have very little warm weather here, the rarerity of it deems it valuable. In the tropics of Australia where I once lived, the short, cooler season (28 degree days) were seen as good!

>So many presenters insist on widening certain vowels, come to swallow various syllables...

Can't say I've ever noticed that. Could it be that you are listening to local presenters based in Cumbria? I'm London-based.

One thing I will say is that weather presenters on the BBC are especially adapt at mixing celsius and farenheit. Recently, one was remarking on the change in temperature from a warm day to a cooler one.

"Yesterday it was 83 degrees, today will probably only get as high as 23"

There was no mention of farenheit or celsius at all! Are we to assume that there was a drop of 60 degrees 'something'?

It's commonly known as "celsiheit" The greater range of numbers add drama. The BBC should know better!

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

27 Aug 200517:39

No, I have in mind the national weather presenters.

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

28 Aug 200522:07

Oh, just checking. Well, they do use presenters from all over the country I suppose. Does that allow for the unusual accents?

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

29 Aug 200509:34

I don't think that is the reason. I suspect it is due to the apparent need to present everything with a grin, which stretches the mouth and forms 'eh' sounds into 'ah' sounds.

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

24 Aug 200512:55

My understanding is that the Centigrade scale defines the freezing point of water as 0C and the boiling point as 100C. Celsius however an offset of 273.15 from the Kelvin temperature scale. The Kelvin temperature scale defines the freezing point of water (or more correctly the triple-point of water) as 273.15K. This means that Celsius and Centigrade are effectively the same, but they have very different definitions.

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200508:30

Yes, Celsius is the correct term I understand. The Swedish scientist was Anders Celsius who based his temperature chart on the freezing and boiling points of fresh water. So fresh water freezes at 0 and boils at 100. Daniel Fahrenheit was a German scientist who developed his chart around 30 years before Celsius. He based his chart on the freezing point of sea water (very relevant in the Baltic, not so for the rest of the world!) I think his 100 was supposed to be blood temp. but had to be adjusted later to the 96F whatever it is now. Fahrenheit's 300th anniversary is this year.
This time of year the UK media lapse into 'Centiheit' whenever we get a heatwave. It can be 25 C one day and the next headlines scream '100F scorcher expected'. And why do cookery writers still give degrees F for oven temps when we have had ovens at degrees C for over 30 years now?

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

02 Sep 200600:23

> Yes, Celsius is the correct term I understand. The
> Swedish scientist was Anders Celsius who based his
> temperature chart on the freezing and boiling points
> of fresh water. So fresh water freezes at 0 and boils
> at 100. Daniel Fahrenheit was a German scientist who
> developed his chart around 30 years before Celsius.
> He based his chart on the freezing point of sea water
> (very relevant in the Baltic, not so for the rest of
> the world!) I think his 100 was supposed to be blood
> temp. but had to be adjusted later to the 96F
> whatever it is now. Fahrenheit's 300th anniversary is
> this year.
> This time of year the UK media lapse into 'Centiheit'
> whenever we get a heatwave. It can be 25 C one day
> y and the next headlines scream '100F scorcher
> expected'. And why do cookery writers still give
> degrees F for oven temps when we have had ovens at
> degrees C for over 30 years now?

Being journalists, they might be obliged to sound as sensational as possible when reporting. A 100F scorcher somehow sounds hotter than 40C; sub-zero temperatures have more of a ring than "below 36F". :o)

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200508:50

That's right, LL. Curiously, Celsius' scale had freezing point as 100 and boiling point as 0. Farenheit picked his zero as the coldest temperature that could be created in the lab at the time, and his 100 was meant to be an easily obtainable fixed temperature, blood heat (as it used to say on the old thermometers), not knowing that it wasn't in fact constant. He must have been a bit feverish at the time!

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200510:44

It always amuses me how it can be 18 one day and 80 the next in the UK. The same people who claim to only know "fahrenehit", claiming it to be "oh so British"
(I mean just how British can a GERMAN word sound!?) never seem to use it in cold weather! Sorry, but never in my life have I heard someone say "bbbrrrr, it must be 28 out there, think I'll put my hat and coat on." No, it's "Suddenly Celsius" again ;)
With the BBC relentlessly drumming fahrenheit down our throats after 40 years of celsius ( it takes 40 seconds to learn celsius!) one has to wonder about the "elderly" they claim it's for- were these same people "elderly" 40 years ago when Celsius came in? Too funny..and a lie!

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200511:49

According to the official SI website, it has been Celsius since 1948.

http://www.bipm.fr/en/si/si_brochure/appendix1/decisions_base_units/decisions_temperature.html
9th CGPM, 1948, Resolution 7
From three names ("degree centigrade", "centesimal degree", "degree Celsius") proposed to denote the degree of temperature, the CIPM has chosen "degree Celsius".

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

19 Aug 200508:12

Another good source of information is www.thinkmetric.org
It also helps those who are unfamiliar with Celsius to become used to it not by comparing it to farenheit but how to make useful comparisons and associations.

I don't think it uses centrigrade though, it's officially celsius!

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200512:01

Good grief!!! is the BBC saying ( by continuing with fahrenheit) that the British people are ABSOLUTE retards? Or is that "vociferous minority" I was told write in to ask for "olde worlde" things, just British nationalists looking for one more thing to cling to as an "excuse" not to let us move forwward as a modern nation?

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200512:41

But don't the BBC give the temp in celsius?

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

19 Aug 200509:44

It's the BBC's relentless throwing in of the likes of "and that's a lovely 77 degrees fahrenheit" AFTER the celsius which leaves people remembering the F only and continuing their excuse ( always only in warm weather mind!) that they don't understand "warm" after 20 C..that's insanity in action. One newsreader( Emily Maitliss) said recently "phew its in the 90s in here".
What kind of example does that show to children? We're nuts?? 0=freezing, 100=boiling..it's not rocket science!

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200513:48

Yes, the BBC does give temperatures in Celsius although it continues to translate some of them verbally into Fahrenheit, presumably for the benefit of those who are unable or unwilling to familiarise themselves with the more modern system. Yet, I can't recall ever seeing the BBC convert pence into shillings and pence even though I am sure there were as many people who disliked decimalisation.

Re: Celsius or Centigrade

Archive Comments

18 Aug 200508:23

I grew up learning it as centigrade, then I think it was the tv weather that started to use celsius - in the 1980's I think. I never use centigrade now as it would feel antiquated, which makes me wonder what farenheit users think!

Even though centigrade and celsius are essentially the same thing, as it was centigrade first for me, I always feel I am speaking the 'modernised' version and not the original. It gives me an insight into how it must feel to have to change one's thinking when having to learn a new currency (decimalisation) or other aspects of the metric system.

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Originally published: Wednesday, 17th August 2005
Last updated on: Monday, 5th October 2009

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Body text - Copyrighted: The Open University
Image 'Speech bubbles' - Copyright: Jupiter Images

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