• Question: is there a way to measure absolute zero?

    Asked by Dalta8 to Tiernan, Sonia, Mossy, Maureen, Bernard on 7 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Maureen

      Maureen answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      That’s a great question! Zero degrees Kelvin (or Absolute Zero) is physically impossible to reach because a (literally) infinite amount of work would be required to cool something that cold. We can get a few billionths of a degree away from it, but we can’t reach it. We have been able to measure temperatures down to −240°C in craters on the moon (❄brrrr❄).

    • Photo: Bernard

      Bernard answered on 8 Nov 2018: last edited 8 Nov 2018 8:58 am

      Very low temperatures can be measured using specialised thermometers.I am not sure if it possible to obtain absolute zero.

    • Photo: Sonia Lenehan

      Sonia Lenehan answered on 8 Nov 2018:

      Wow that is really cool Maureen, I did not know that! I just knew of absolute zero from my chemistry classes years ago!

    • Photo: Mossy

      Mossy answered on 9 Nov 2018:

      Absolute zero doesn’t really exist. A particle at absolute zero would have no energy. According to quantum mechanics – all particles have a things called “zero-point energy”. At those scales – the concept of temperature the way we think of it becomes meaningless.

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