The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-11
JUDGES ANSWER
COLD QUESTION
T. D. Keller, Principal of Webster
School, Salt Lake, Gets
the Prize.
WINNER GAVE FIRST NEAREST
CORRECT REPLY.

r d. Keller, S65 Water street principal
of the Webster school, Salt Lake, wins
the IS offered by The Herald to the per-
son sending in the first correct answer to
the query How cold must it be to be
twice as cold as degrees above zero?"
The judges were the following:
George a. Eaton, Phi. D., principal of the
Salt Lake High school and president of
the Utah State Teachers association.
William 9. Ebaugh, professor of chem
istry at the University Of Utah.
John 4. Widtsoe, Phi. D., director of the
department of agriculture, Brigham
Young university Provo.
Their solution was .2S.936 degrees below
zero. Mr.. Keeler's answer is 229 degrees
below zero his answer being less than
ton was No. 16, the first nearest correct
received.
Text of Decision.
The decision of the judges is as follows:
February 10, 1906
ITO the Salt Lake Herald:
Your jury appointed to decide the cold
contest recently condU cted by your pa
per begs leave to submit the following re-
port:
''22S. 926 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit.
In calculating our result we have as
sumed that the value Of the absolute
zero is 27314 degrees below zero cent?
grade, or 459. S52 degrees below zero Fab
spectfully,
GEO. A. EATON,
Wv. G EBAUGH,
JOHN A. WIDTSOE."
According to the scientists. heat is
motion Of the minute particles or mus
cles which go to make up matter of
any kind. Cold is the absence of heat.
Absolute zero as meant in the judges
decision, IS the point where there is alb
soIutely no motion of the molecules and
hence no heat whatsoever. Twice as cold
means half as warm. The judges con-
sequently figured the number of degrees
above absolute zero which the starting
point 1.-TWO degrees above Fahrenheit) was
and divided this number of degrees by
two.
Answer Which Draws Prize
The winning answer is as follows:
16-Weather Editor Salt Lake Herald.
Dear Sir-F'or every centigrade degree
a gas at zero will expand 1-273 of its vol
ume. A gas will accordingly double its
volume at 279 degrees c. Conversely the
amount Of contraction when the gas is
reduced to 27S degrees C.. or 400 degrees
F., would therefore equal the volume of
the gas at zero. The volume would there
fore be reduced to a geOmetrical point.
This of necessity must be the absolute
$50 F., and degrees F. above zero,
between the absolute zero of temperature
would be 229 degrees F. below zero. A body
having this temperature would be one
Udh dS WdfiU rs one at QeSFeSS ABOVE
zero. It therefore would be. in popular
phrase, twice as cold.
IF D. KELLER
1865 Water Street. City
Mr. Keller was not the only person who
submitted 229 degrees below zero as an
answer. This answer was received i'll adj
vance of the others. and consequently
he receives the prize.
First Answer on Right Principle.
The first communication received, from
Orland Overn, 456 South Fourth East,
contained a solution with 1857 degrees
below zero as an answer He and other
contestants offered their solutions on the
correct principle, although the solutions
were correct in principle. the difference
of opinion as to the exact standard of
the absolute zero led to the variation of
answers.
The first answer received, which would
have won the prize, if it had assumed
Continued on Page 2.