Temperature

Hello there. You can’t see me, but you can feel me every single second of the day. I am the reason you pull your blanket up to your chin on a chilly night. I am the warm sunshine on your face during a picnic. I make your breath look like a little cloud on a frosty morning, and I’m the reason a cup of hot chocolate feels so good in your hands. I can be a cozy hug or a cool shiver. Have you guessed who I am? I am Temperature.

For a very long time, people only knew me by how I felt. Words like ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ were the only ways to describe me. But people are curious. They wanted to know exactly how hot or cold something was. Around the year 1593, a very smart man from Italy named Galileo Galilei built a funny-looking glass tube with floating bulbs inside. It was called a thermoscope, and it was one of the first tools that could show when I was changing. It wasn't perfect, but it was a wonderful start. Then, on a day in 1714, another clever person named Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented a mercury thermometer. He also gave me a set of numbers to wear, called the Fahrenheit scale. A little later, in 1742, a scientist named Anders Celsius came up with a different set of numbers called the Celsius scale, which is used in most places around the world today. Finally, people could measure me.

Today, you can find me everywhere. I’m the number on the weather report that tells you whether to wear shorts or a coat. I help bakers know when a cake is perfectly baked. I tell a doctor if you have a fever and need to rest. I make sure your refrigerator is cold enough to keep your food fresh and your freezer is chilly enough to make ice pops. From the boiling water that cooks your pasta to the cool water in a swimming pool, I am always there. By understanding me, you can stay safe, healthy, and explore the amazing world all around you.