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by fivestringer on January 2nd, 2005

fivestringer

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Absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius) is the lower limit on temperature. Is there an upper limit?

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  • by Encyclopedia_John on January 23rd, 2005

    Encyclopedia_John

    To answer this question, I have to talk about temperatures so large that I have to use special notation; so when I write "10^32", I mean ten raised to the 32nd power and so forth.

    The highest possible temperature, called the Planck temperature, is equal to 1.4 x 10^32 degrees Kelvin. For comparison, the center of the sun is 15 x 10^6 Kelvin.

    Some scientists believe that our universe has already experienced the Planck temperature, at 1/(10^43) of a second after the Big Bang.

    The faster particles move, the hotter they get. If there were some electrons traveling near the speed of light, their temperature could theoretically reach 10^32 K. Under these conditions each particle of matter would become a black hole, and space and time would collapse. So the Planck temperature is as hot as things can get in theory. When a quantum theory of gravity is discovered, we may find even higher temperatures are possible.

    This information is from the following website:

    http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_347.html

    Comments

    • But, what is the theoretical or practical basis behind that value?

      saratchandra

      by saratchandra on September 15th, 2005

    • Thank you

      Farino

      by Farino on July 26th, 2007

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