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Is "temperature" misused as average kinetic energy?
From a recent posting about Voyager I and Voyager II passing through the heliopause: "both spacecraft measured temperatures of 30,000-50,000 kelvin".
My college astrophysics professor had conniptions when people said things like this. What the voyagers measured was some approximation of the average kinetic energy of particles in space. But, as per my professor, 'temperature' is not simply another way to talk about average kinetic energy. Temperature is a measure pertaining to an ideal black body -- not extremely sparse interstellar space. It assumes the object is in thermal equilibrium.
Does this not make sense?
#science
source
From a recent posting about Voyager I and Voyager II passing through the heliopause: "both spacecraft measured temperatures of 30,000-50,000 kelvin".
My college astrophysics professor had conniptions when people said things like this. What the voyagers measured was some approximation of the average kinetic energy of particles in space. But, as per my professor, 'temperature' is not simply another way to talk about average kinetic energy. Temperature is a measure pertaining to an ideal black body -- not extremely sparse interstellar space. It assumes the object is in thermal equilibrium.
Does this not make sense?
#science
source
| 4,000 mlx | |
| 6 | |
| 0 |