What is the Difference Between Celsius and Centigrade?

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The main difference between Celsius and Centigrade lies in their names and the historical context behind them. Celsius and Centigrade are essentially the same temperature scale, with 0°C representing the freezing point of water and 100°C representing the boiling point of water. The scale was initially created by Swedish scientist Anders Celsius in 1742, and it was later renamed Celsius in 1948 to honor him.

The name Centigrade comes from the Latin word meaning "a hundred degrees," which refers to the original scale's range of 0° to 100°. In 1948, the name was changed to Celsius to avoid confusion with other units of measurement in French and Spanish languages and to acknowledge Anders Celsius, the inventor of the scale.

In summary:

  • Celsius and Centigrade are essentially the same temperature scale, with slight differences.
  • The name Celsius was adopted in 1948 to honor Swedish scientist Anders Celsius and to avoid confusion with other units of measurement.
  • The freezing point of water for Celsius and Centigrade is 0°C, and the boiling point is 100°C.

Comparative Table: Celsius vs Centigrade

Celsius and centigrade are two names for essentially the same temperature scale, with slight differences. The centigrade scale is divided into 100 equal intervals between the freezing and boiling points of water at sea level. The Celsius scale is also divided into 100 equal intervals, but it is used to denote the same temperature scale as centigrade. In summary, the main difference between Celsius and centigrade is that they are two names for the same temperature scale. Here is a table highlighting the equivalences between Celsius and centigrade:

Celsius (°C) Centigrade (°C)
-100 -100
-99 -99
-98 -98
-97 -97
-96 -96
0 0
1 1
2 2
100 100

All temperatures in Celsius are equal to the corresponding temperatures in centigrade, so there is no difference between the two scales.