page_title: Fahrenheit
hierarchical_section_title: Fahrenheit
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Raumthermometer mit Fahrenheit- und Celsiusskala (USA-Standard). Svenska: Inomhustermometer med Fahrenheit- och Celsiusskala.English: Thermometer with Fahrenheit and Celsius units
context_page_description: The Fahrenheit scale is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit. It uses the degree Fahrenheit as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his scale exist, but the original paper suggests the lower defining point, 0 °F, was established as the freezing temperature of a solution of brine made from a mixture of water, ice, and ammonium chloride. The other limit established was his best estimate of the average human body temperature. However, he noted a middle point of 32 °F, to be set to the temperature of ice water.
  The Fahrenheit scale is now usually defined by two fixed points: the temperature at which pure water freezes into ice is defined as 32 °F and the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 °F, both at sea level and under standard atmospheric pressure.
  Fahrenheit was the first standardized temperature scale to be widely used, but its use is now limited. It is the official temperature scale in the United States, its freely associated states in the Western Pacific, the Cayman Islands, and Liberia.
context_section_description: The Fahrenheit scale (/ˈfɑːrənhaɪt/) is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his scale exist, but the original paper suggests the lower defining point, 0 °F, was established as the freezing temperature of a solution of brine made from a mixture of water, ice, and ammonium chloride (a salt). The other limit established was his best estimate of the average human body temperature (set at 96 °F; about 2.6 °F less than the modern value due to a later redefinition of the scale). However, he noted a middle point of 32 °F, to be set to the temperature of ice water.
  The Fahrenheit scale is now usually defined by two fixed points: the temperature at which pure water freezes into ice is defined as 32 °F and the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 °F, both at sea level and under standard atmospheric pressure (a 180 °F separation).
  Fahrenheit was the first standardized temperature scale to be widely used, but its use is now limited. It is the official temperature scale in the United States (including its unincorporated territories), its freely associated states in the Western Pacific (Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands), the Cayman Islands, and Liberia. Fahrenheit is used alongside the Celsius scale in Antigua and Barbuda and other islands which use the same meteorological service, such as Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, and Belize. A handful of British Overseas Territories still use both scales, including the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Anguilla, and Bermuda. In the United Kingdom, degrees Fahrenheit are often given alongside degrees Celsius, as some people are still more familiar with Fahrenheit, or for editorial effect . All other countries in the world now officially use the Celsius scale, the name given to the centigrade scale in 1948 in honor of Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius.
caption: Thermometer with Fahrenheit (marked on outer bezel) and Celsius (marked on inner dial) degree units. The Fahrenheit scale was the first standardized temperature scale to be widely used.
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