Fahrenheit

:This article is about the temperature scale; see also Fahrenheit graphics API and Fahrenheit (video game).

Usage

The Fahrenheit scale was the primary temperature standard for climatic, industrial and medical purposes in most English-speaking countries until the 1960s. In the late 1960s and 1970s the Celsius (formerly centigrade) scale was phased-in by governments as part of the standardizing process of metrication. However, despite official attempts to displace it, Fahrenheit remains in use for everyday, non-scientific temperature measurement by the general population of many English-speaking countries out of habit.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s - Celsius - Metrication

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Fahrenheit supporters claim this is due to Fahrenheit's user-friendliness. The ambient air temperature in most inhabited regions of the world tends not to go far beyond the range of 0 °F to 100 °F: therefore, the Fahrenheit scale would reflect the perceived ambient temperatures, following 10-degree bands that emerge in the Fahrenheit system:

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• 10s Deep Frost.
• 20s Light Frost.
• 30s Cold. Close to freezing.
• 40s Cold. Heavy clothing needed.
• 50s Cool. Moderate Clothing required.
• 60s Warm. Light clothing.
• 70s Moderately Hot. Summer clothing.
• 80s Hot. Bearable. Minimal clothing.
• 90s Very Hot. Take precautions against overheating.
• 100s Dangerously Hot.

However, such a correlation is largely the result of habit: in the same way, Celsius supporters might indicate that 0-10 °C indicates cold, 10-20 °C mild, 20-30 °C warm and 30-40 °C hot, with the minus sign indicating frost.

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In the United States and Jamaica, where metrication has encountered greater resistance from industry and consumers, the Fahrenheit system continues to be very widely used for this purpose. Similarly, in parts of the United Kingdom, both systems are used; Fahrenheit is still used by older generations for everyday measurement of warmer temperatures, while cooler temperatures are more often measured in degrees Celsius. Younger generations use Celsius for both. In Canada, although the media is required to report temperatures in degrees Celsius, many older Canadians still describe temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.

Related Topics:
United States - Jamaica - United Kingdom - Canada

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In popular medicine too, it is well known that the normal body temperature in Fahrenheit is 98.6 degrees, and easy to remember that a temperature in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit requires medical attention.

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