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Definition of Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit: Thermometer scale in which the freezing point of water is 32°F and the boiling point of water 212°F.

The Fahrenheit scale is still obstinately in use in the US. This anachronism requires conversion from Centigrade (°C) to Fahrenheit (°F), and vice versa.

One degree °C = (5/9)(°F - 32).

One degree °F = (9/5)(°C) + 32.

Named for Gabriel Fahrenheit, a German-Dutch physicist, who devised the scale in 1724. 0°F was the lowest temperature that Fahrenheit could obtain using a mixture of ice and salt.