Temperature in °C compared to the thermodynamic scale in electron volts, which are also used as a unit of temperature

List of orders of magnitude for temperature

FactorMultipleItem
00 KAbsolute zero: A temperature so low that it cannot be reached, because of the third law of thermodynamics
10−121 pK38+6 −7 pK, lowest laboratory-produced temperature, achieved through matter-wave lensing of rubidium Bose-Einstein condensates. 450 pK, lowest temperature sodium Bose–Einstein condensate gas ever achieved in the laboratory, at MIT
10−91 nK50 nK, Fermi temperature of potassium-40 Critical temperature of alkali Bose–Einstein condensates
10−61 μKNuclear demagnetization Doppler-cooled refrigerants in laser cooling and magneto-optical traps
10−31 mK1.7 mK, temperature record for helium-3/helium-4 dilution refrigeration, and the lowest temperature which may be sustained for arbitrarily long time with known techniques. 2.5 mK, Fermi melting point of helium-3 60 mK adiabatic demagnetization of paramagnetic molecules 300 mK in evaporative cooling of helium-3 700 mK, helium-3/helium-4 mixtures begin phase separation 950 mK, melting point of helium at 2.5 megapascals of pressure. All 118 elements are solid at or below this temperature. Energy equivalent to a microwave photon
11 K1 K at the Boomerang Nebula, the coldest natural environment known 1.5 K, melting point of overbound helium 2.19 K, lambda point of overbound superfluid helium 2.725 K, cosmic microwave background 4.1 K, superconductivity point of mercury 4.22 K, boiling point of bound helium 5.19 K, critical temperature of helium 7.2 K, superconductivity point of lead 9.3 K, superconductivity point of niobium
10110 KFermi melting point of valence electrons for superconductivity 14.01 K, melting point of bound hydrogen 20.28 K, boiling point of bound hydrogen 33 K, critical temperature of hydrogen 44 K mean on Pluto 53 K mean of Neptune 63 K, melting point of bound nitrogen 68 K mean of Uranus 77.35 K, boiling point of bound nitrogen 90.19 K, boiling point of bound oxygen 92 K, superconductivity point of Y–Ba–Cu–oxide (YBCO)
102100 K134 K, highest-temperature superconductor at ambient pressure, mercury barium calcium copper oxide 165 K, glass transition temperature of supercooled water 184.0 K (–89.2 °C), coldest air recorded on Earth 192 K, Debye temperature of ice 273.15 K (0 °C), melting point of bound water 273.16 K (0.01 °C), temperature of triple point of water c. 293 K, room temperature 373.15 K (100 °C), boiling point of bound water at sea level 647 K, critical point of superheated water 737.5 K, mean on Venus See detailed list below
1031 kK500–2200 K on brown dwarfs (photosphere) 1043 K Curie temperature of iron (point at which iron transitions from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic behavior and loses any permanent magnetism) 1170 K at wood fire 1300 K in lava flows, open flames 1500 K in basalt lava flows c. 1670 K at blue candle flame 1811 K, melting point of iron (lower for steel) 1830 K in Bunsen burner flame 1900 K at the Space Shuttle orbiter hull in 8 km/s dive 2022 K, boiling point of lead 2074 K, surface temperature of the coolest star, 2MASS J0523-1403 2230 K, Debye temperature of carbon 2320 K at open hydrogen flame 2150–2450 K at open hydrocarbon flame 2900 K, color temperature of halogen lamps, black-body radiation maximum at 1000 nm 3695 K, melting point of tungsten 3915 K, sublimation point of carbon 4231 K, melting point of hafnium carbide 4800 K, 10 MPa, triple point of carbon 5000 K, 12 GPa melting point of diamond 5100 K in cyanogen–dioxygen flame 5516 K at dicyanoacetylene (carbon subnitride)–ozone flame 5650 K at Earth's Inner Core Boundary 5780 K on surface of the Sun 5933 K, boiling point of tungsten 6000 K, mean of the Universe 300,000 years after the Big Bang 7445 K, 850 GPa; 8750 K, 520 GPa; 5400 K, 220 GPa, critical point of diamond/solid III 7735 K, a monatomic ideal gas has one electron volt of kinetic energy 8000 K, routinely sustainable temperature in an analytical inductively coupled plasma 8801 K, 10.56 GPa; 7020.5 K, 797 MPa, critical point of carbon Anionic sparks
10410 kK10 kK on Sirius A 10–15 kK in mononitrogen recombination 15.5 kK, critical point of tungsten 25 kK, mean temperature of the universe 10,000 years after the Big Bang 26 kK on the white dwarf Sirius B 28 kK in record cationic lightning over Earth 29 kK on surface of Alnitak (easternmost star of Orion's belt) 4–8–40–160 kK[clarification needed] on white dwarfs 30–400 kK on a planetary nebula's asymptotic giant helium star 36 kK boundary between inner and outer core within Jupiter 37 kK in proton–electron reactions 38 kK on Eta Carinae 46 kK on Wolf–Rayet star R136a1 50 kK at protostar (core) 54.5 kK on ON2 III(f*) star LH64-16 >200 kK in Butterfly Nebula Fermi boiling point of valence electrons
1061 MK0.8 MK in solar wind 1 MK inside old neutron stars, brown dwarfs, and at gravital deuterium fusion range 1–3–10 MK[clarification needed] above Sun (corona) 2.4 MK at T Tauri stars and gravital lithium-6 fusion range 2.5 MK at red dwarfs and gravital protium fusion range 10 MK at orange dwarfs and gravital helium-3 fusion range 15.6 MK at Sun's core 10–30–100[clarification needed] MK in stellar flares 20 MK in novae 23 MK, beryllium-7 fusion range 60 MK above Eta Carinae 85 MK (15 keV) in a magnetic confinement fusion plasma 200 MK at helium star and gravital helium-4 fusion range 230 MK, gravital carbon-12 fusion range 460 MK, gravital neon fusion–disproportionation range 5–530 MK in Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor's plasma 750 MK, gravital oxygen fusion range
1091 GK1 GK, everything 100 seconds after the Big Bang 1.3–1.7 GK, gravital silicon fusion range 3 GK in electron–positron reactions 10 GK in supernovae 10 GK, everything 1 second after the Big Bang 700 GK in quasars' accretion discs 740 GK, Hagedorn temperature or Fermi melting point of pions
10121 TK0.1–1 TK at new neutron star ~1 TK, critical temperature to form quark–gluon plasma 3–5 TK in proton–antiproton reactions 5.5 TK, highest man-made temperature, in a quark–gluon plasma from LHC collisions 10 TK, 100 microseconds after the Big Bang 45–67 TK at collapsar of a gamma-ray burst 300–900 TK at proton–nickel conversions in the Tevatron's Main Injector[clarification needed]
10151 PK0.3–2.2 PK at proton–antiproton collisions 2.8 PK within an electroweak star
10181 EKTemperature of the universe a split second after the Big Bang
10211 ZKTemperature of the universe 100 nanoseconds after the Big Bang
10241 YK0.5–7 YK at ultra-high-energy cosmic ray collisions
10271 RKEverything 10−35 seconds after the Big Bang
10301 QKHagedorn temperature of strings
1032100 QK142 QK, Planck temperature
1029010260 QKLandau pole of quantum electrodynamics

Detailed list for 100 K to 1000 K

Most ordinary human activity takes place at temperatures of this order of magnitude. Circumstances where water naturally occurs in liquid form are shown in light grey.

KelvinDegrees CelsiusDegrees FahrenheitCondition
100 K−173.15 °C−279.67 °Ftemperature used for cryotechnics
133 K−140 °C−220 °FMean on Saturn
133 K to 163 K−140 to −110 °C−220 to −160 °FTypical temperature of a whole-body cryotherapy chamber
163 K−110 °C−166 °FMean on Jupiter
165 K−108 °C−163 °FGlass transition temperature of supercooled water (Debatable)
175.4 K−97.8 °C−144 °FColdest luminance temperature recorded on Earth (measured remotely by satellite), in Antarctica
183.7 K−89.5 °C−129.1 °FFreezing/melting point of isopropyl alcohol
183.9 K−89.2 °C−128.6 °FColdest officially recorded air temperature on Earth, at Vostok Station, Antarctica on 1983-07-21 01:45 UTC
192 K−81 °C−114 °FDebye temperature of ice
193 to 203 K−80 to −70 °C−112 to −94 °FTypical temperature of a ULT freezer
194.6 K−78.5 °C−109.3 °FSublimation point of carbon dioxide (dry ice)
203.55 K−69.6 °C−93.3 °FColdest officially recorded air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere at Klinck AWS, Greenland (Denmark) on 1991-12-22
205.5 K−67.7 °C−89.9 °FColdest officially recorded air temperature on the Eurasian continent at Oymyakon, USSR on 6 February 1933[full citation needed]
210 K−63 °C−80 °FMean on Mars
214.9 K–58.3 °C–72.9 °FColdest annual mean temperature on Earth, at Dome Argus, Antarctica[full citation needed]
223.15 K−50 °C−58 °FMean on Earth during Snowball Earth period[full citation needed] around 650 million years ago
224.8 K−48.4 °C−55.0 °FColdest temperature that water can remain a liquid (see Supercooling)
225 K−48 °C−55 °FFreezing/melting point of cottonseed oil
233.15 K−40 °C−40 °FPoint of coincidence of the Celsius and Fahrenheit temperature scales Skin may freeze almost instantly at or below this temperature[full citation needed]
234.3 K−38.83 °C−37.89 °FFreezing/melting point of mercury
240.4 K−32.8 °C−27.0 °FColdest air temperature recorded in South America, at Sarmiento, Argentina on 1907-06-01
246 K−27 °C−17 °FApproximate average yearly temperature on Mount Everest
249 K–24 °C–11 °FFreezing/melting point of flax seed oil
249.3 K–23.9 °C–11.0 °FColdest air temperature recorded in Africa, at Ifrane, Morocco on 11 February 1935
250 K–23 °C–9 °FColdest air temperature recorded in Australia, at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales, Australia on 1994-06-29
255.37 K–17+7⁄9 °C0 °FColdest brine–ice solution found by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
255 K–18 °C0 °FFreezing/melting point of almond oil Typical temperature of a household freezer
256 K–17 °C1 °FFreezing/melting point of sunflower oil
256 K–17 °C2 °FFreezing/melting point of safflower oil
257 K–16 °C3 °FFreezing/melting point of soybean oil[full citation needed]
262 K−11 °C12 °FFreezing/melting point of corn oil[full citation needed]
263.15 K–10 °C14 °FFreezing/melting point of canola oil Freezing/melting point of grape seed oil[full citation needed]
265 K–8 °C18 °FWhite frost can form below this temperature Freezing/melting point of hemp seed oil[full citation needed]
265.8 K–7.2 °C19 °FFreezing/melting point of bromine
267 K–6 °C21 °FFreezing/melting point of olive oil Freezing/melting point of sesame oil
271.15 K−2 °C28.4 °FAverage freezing/melting point of oceans, the salinity is around 3.47%.
273.14 K-0.01 °C31.98 °FMaximum temperature of an object causing frostbite
273.15 K0.00 °C32.00 °FFreezing/melting point of fresh water (at 1 atm pressure)
273.16 K0.01 °C32.02 °FTriple point of fresh water
276 K3 °C37 °FFreezing/melting point of peanut oil
277 K3.85 °C39 °FTypical temperature of a household refrigerator
277.13 K3.98 °C39.16 °FWater is at maximum density[full citation needed]
279.8 K6.67 °C44 °FThreshold of skin numbness if skin reaches this temperature
283.2 K10 °C50 °FMinimum temperature for most plant growth (see Growing degree-day)
286.9 K12.7 °C54.9 °FColdest body temperature of a human that survived accidental hypothermia (a 2-year-old boy in Racławice, Poland, on November 30, 2014)
287.6 K14.44 °C58 °FCold threshold of pain if skin reaches this temperature
288 K15 °C59 °FMean on Earth
291.6 K18.4 °C65.1 °FHottest temperature in Antarctica, recorded on 2020 February 6 at the Esperanza Base
294 K21 °C70 °FCommonly defined value for room temperature
296 K23 °C73 °FMean on Earth during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum about 55.8 million years ago[full citation needed]
297 K24 °C75 °FMelting/freezing point of palm kernel oil
298 K25 °C77 °FMelting/freezing point of coconut oil
300 K27 °C81 °FThermoneutral temperature of an unclothed human at rest Estimated melting/freezing point of francium
302.9 K29.8 °C85.6 °FMelting/freezing point of gallium
303.15 K30 °C86 °FThe rate of plant growth is typically no greater above this temperature than at this temperature. (see Growing degree-day)
304 K31 °C88 °FMelting/freezing point of butter, critical point for carbon dioxide
307 K34 °C93 °FAutoignition temperature of white phosphorus
307.6 K34.4 °C93.9 °FHottest annual mean temperature on Earth, at Dallol, Ethiopia
308 K35 °C95 °FHypothermic body temperature for humans (see Hypothermia) Warmest sea measured, at the Red Sea Melting/freezing point of palm oil
309.5 K36.4 °C97.5 °FAverage body temperature for a human[full citation needed]
311.03 K37.87 °C100.2 °FBeginnings of a fever for humans
311.8 K38.6 °C101.5 °FAverage body temperature for a cat[full citation needed]
313.15 K40 °C104 °FMaximum standard temperature recommended for hot tub users[full citation needed]
315 K42 °C108 °FUsually fatal human fever
317.6 K44.44 °C112 °FHot threshold of pain if skin reaches this temperature
319.7 K46.5 °C115.7 °FHighest human fever survived (Willie Jones)[full citation needed]
321.45 K48.3 °C119 °FWorld's hottest air temperature recorded while raining, at Imperial, California, USA on July 24, 2018
322.1 K48.9 °C120.0 °FHottest air temperature recorded in South America, at Rivadavia, Argentina on 1905-12-11 Maximum safe temperature for hot water according to numeric U.S. plumbing codes Water will cause a second-degree burn after 8 minutes and a third-degree burn after 10 minutes
323.9 K50.7 °C123.3 °FHottest air temperature recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, at Oodnadatta, Australia on 1960-02-01
329.87 K56.7 °C134.1 °FHottest measured air temperature on Earth, in Death Valley at Furnace Creek, Inyo County, California, United States of America on 10 July 1913.
333.15 K60 °C140 °FWater will cause a second-degree burn in 3 seconds and a third-degree burn in 5 seconds Average temperature of a hair dryer
336 K63 °C145.4 °FMilk pasteurization
342 K69 °C157 °FBoiling point of water on the summit of Mount Everest[full citation needed]
343.15 K70 °C158 °FFood is well done Hot springs at which some bacteria thrive
350 K77 °C170 °FPoaching of food
351.52 K78.37 °C173.07 °FBoiling point of ethanol
353.15 K80 °C176 °FAverage temperature of a sauna
355 K82 °C180 °FRecommended final rinse temperature in industrial-grade commercial dishwashers[full citation needed]
355.6 K82.4 °C180.3 °FBoiling point of isopropyl alcohol
366 K93 °C200 °FSimmering of food
367 K94 °C201 °FHottest ground temperature recorded on Earth at Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California, USA on 1972-07-15[full citation needed]
371 K98 °C209 °FFreezing/melting point of sodium
373.13 K99.98 °C211.97 °FBoiling point of water at 1 atm pressure (see Celsius)
380 K107 °C225 °FSmoke point of raw safflower oil Syrup[vague] is concentrated to 75% sugar
388 K115 °C239 °FMelting/freezing point of sulfur
400 K127 °C260 °FConcorde nose tip during supersonic flight Coldest known stars in space (approximate temperature)[full citation needed]
433.15 K160 °C320 °FSyrup[vague] is concentrated to 100% sugar Sucrose (table sugar) caramelizes[full citation needed]
450 K177 °C350 °FMean on Mercury Smoke point of butter Deep frying
453.15 K180 °C356 °FPopcorn pops
483 K210 °C410 °FAutoignition (kindling) point of diesel fuel
491 K218 °C425 °FKindling point of paper
519 K246 °C475 °FKindling point of automotive gasoline
522 K249 °C480 °FKindling point of jet fuel (Jet A/Jet A-1)[full citation needed]
525 K252 °C485 °FSmoke point of milkfat Kindling point of jet fuel (Jet B)
538 K265 °C510 °FSmoke point of refined safflower oil
574.5875 K301.4375 °C574.5875 °FPoint of coincidence of the Fahrenheit and Kelvin temperature scales
600.65 K327.5 °C621.5 °FMelting/freezing point of lead
647 K374 °C705 °FCritical point of superheated water
693 K419 °C787 °FMelting/freezing point of zinc
723.15 K450 °C842 °FKindling point of aviation gasoline
738 K465 °C870 °FMean on Venus
749 K476 °C889 °FKindling point of magnesium
773.15 K500 °C932 °FOven on self-cleaning mode
798 K525 °C977 °FDraper point (the point at which nearly all objects start to glow dim red)
858 K585 °C1085 °FKindling point of hydrogen
933.47 K660.32 °C1220.58 °FMelting/freezing point of aluminium
1000 K726.85 °C1340.33 °Ftemperature of cherry-red ember, a phase in which solid bodies glow visibly

SI multiples

SI multiples of kelvin (K)
SubmultiplesMultiples
ValueSI symbolNameValueSI symbolName
10−1 KdKdecikelvin101 KdaKdecakelvin
10−2 KcKcentikelvin102 KhKhectokelvin
10−3 KmKmillikelvin103 KkKkilokelvin
10−6 KμKmicrokelvin106 KMKmegakelvin
10−9 KnKnanokelvin109 KGKgigakelvin
10−12 KpKpicokelvin1012 KTKterakelvin
10−15 KfKfemtokelvin1015 KPKpetakelvin
10−18 KaKattokelvin1018 KEKexakelvin
10−21 KzKzeptokelvin1021 KZKzettakelvin
10−24 KyKyoctokelvin1024 KYKyottakelvin
10−27 KrKrontokelvin1027 KRKronnakelvin
10−30 KqKquectokelvin1030 KQKquettakelvin

External links