• SI unit of temperature, the absolute thermodynamic scale
  • 0 K = absolute zero = -273.15 C, the lowest possible temperature
  • increments equal to Celsius degrees: a change of 1 K = a change of 1 C
  • defined since 2019 by fixing the Boltzmann constant at 1.380649e-23 J/K
  • surface of the Sun: ~5778 K
  • cosmic microwave background: 2.725 K
  • room temperature: ~293 K
  • named after Lord Kelvin (William Thomson)
  • the scale where all thermodynamic equations work directly: PV = nRT uses kelvin