Contents
Key Stage 3
Meaning
Absolute zero is the coldest possible temperature in the Universe.
About Absolute Zero
- Absolute zero is -273°C.
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Absolute zero is zero on the Kelvin scale and the coldest possible temperature in the Universe.
About Absolute Zero
- Absolute zero is -273°C.
- As a gas decreases in temperature it decreases in volume. Absolute zero is the temperature at which the volume of the gas would become zero.
- At absolute zero the pressure in a gas becomes zero.
- At absolute zero all the particles in material stop moving, they have no kinetic energy.
References
Edexcel
- Absolute zero, page 193, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Absolute zero, page 204, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Absolute zero, page 301, GCSE Physics, CGP, Edexcel
- Absolute zero, page 425, GCSE Combined Science, Pearson Edexcel
- Absolute zero, page 97, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
OCR
Key Stage 5
Meaning
Absolute Zero is the theoretical temperature at which a system reaches its minimum possible energy, corresponding to 0 K.
About Absolute Zero
- At absolute zero, molecular motion ceases.
- It is the baseline for the Kelvin temperature scale.
- Absolute zero is equivalent to -273.15°C.
Examples
- The coldest recorded temperature in a laboratory setting is a fraction of a kelvin above absolute zero.
- Space probes use devices cooled to near absolute zero to detect faint infrared signals.