Fahrenheit, Gabriel Daniel (1686–1736)
Polish-born Dutch instrument-maker who introduced the mercury-in-glass thermometer
and discovered the variation of boiling
point with atmospheric pressure, but is best remembered for his Fahrenheit
temperature scale. This has 180 divisions (degrees) between the freezing
point of water (32°F) and its boiling
point (212°F). Although still commonly used in the United States, elsewhere
the Fahrenheit scale has been superceded by the Celsius scale first proposed
by Anders Celsius.
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