Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician who introduced the Celsius temperature scale that is used today by scientists in most countries.
Celsius's important contributions include determining the shape and size of the Earth; gauging the magnitude of the stars in the constellation Aries; publishing a catalog of 300 stars and their magnitudes; observing eclipses and other astronomical events; and preparing a study that revealed that the Nordic countries were slowly rising above the sea level of the Baltic. His most famous contribution falls in the area of temperature, and the one he is remembered most for is the creation of the Celsius temperature scale.
After graduation from the University of Uppsala, Celsius remained at the university as a professor of mathematics. In 1730 the university appointed him to the position of professor of astronomy, and Celsius followed in his father's footsteps. That year he published one of his first papers, "A Dissertation on a New Method of Determining the Distance of the Sun from the Earth." In 1732 he embarked on a tour of Europe to visit the centers of scientific inquiry—Berlin, Nuremberg, Italy, Paris, and London.
While in Nuremberg in 1733 Celsius published his collection of 316 observations made between 1716 and 1732 by him and others of the phenomenon of aurora borealis , otherwise known as northern lights. At the end of this tour in 1736 Celsius took part in an expedition to Lapland led by Maupertuis of the Paris Academy of Sciences to measure the arc of the meridian there, in Tornea, Sweden. The guiding principle of this expedition was the goal of verifying Sir Isaac Newton's theory that the Earth flattened at the poles, thereby disproving the opposing Cartesian view of the Earth. Similarly in 1738 Celsius published his "Disquisition on Observations Made in France for Determining the Shape of the Earth," a broadside that argued against the views of Jacques Cassini.
In 1740 Celsius oversaw the construction of the Uppsala observatory, and two years later he supervised the move into the new facility.Celsius subsequently served as the director of the observatory. In 1742 he presented a paper before the Swedish Academy of Sciences wherein he laid out his proposal for his new thermometer, based on a scale of 100 intervals or degrees. This scale became known as the Celsius scale as well as the centigrade scale, because of its 100 gradations.
In 1742, he presented to the Swedish Academy of Sciences his paper, "Observations on Two Persistent Degrees on a Thermometer," in which he presented his observations that all thermometers should be made on a fixed scale of 100 divisions (centigrade), based on two points: 0 degrees for boiling water, and 100 degrees for freezing water. He presented his argument on the inaccuracies of existing scales and calibration methods and correctly presented the influence of air pressure on the boiling point of water.
Celsius's important contributions include determining the shape and size of the Earth; gauging the magnitude of the stars in the constellation Aries; publishing a catalog of 300 stars and their magnitudes; observing eclipses and other astronomical events; and preparing a study that revealed that the Nordic countries were slowly rising above the sea level of the Baltic. His most famous contribution falls in the area of temperature, and the one he is remembered most for is the creation of the Celsius temperature scale.
After graduation from the University of Uppsala, Celsius remained at the university as a professor of mathematics. In 1730 the university appointed him to the position of professor of astronomy, and Celsius followed in his father's footsteps. That year he published one of his first papers, "A Dissertation on a New Method of Determining the Distance of the Sun from the Earth." In 1732 he embarked on a tour of Europe to visit the centers of scientific inquiry—Berlin, Nuremberg, Italy, Paris, and London.
While in Nuremberg in 1733 Celsius published his collection of 316 observations made between 1716 and 1732 by him and others of the phenomenon of aurora borealis , otherwise known as northern lights. At the end of this tour in 1736 Celsius took part in an expedition to Lapland led by Maupertuis of the Paris Academy of Sciences to measure the arc of the meridian there, in Tornea, Sweden. The guiding principle of this expedition was the goal of verifying Sir Isaac Newton's theory that the Earth flattened at the poles, thereby disproving the opposing Cartesian view of the Earth. Similarly in 1738 Celsius published his "Disquisition on Observations Made in France for Determining the Shape of the Earth," a broadside that argued against the views of Jacques Cassini.
In 1740 Celsius oversaw the construction of the Uppsala observatory, and two years later he supervised the move into the new facility.Celsius subsequently served as the director of the observatory. In 1742 he presented a paper before the Swedish Academy of Sciences wherein he laid out his proposal for his new thermometer, based on a scale of 100 intervals or degrees. This scale became known as the Celsius scale as well as the centigrade scale, because of its 100 gradations.
In 1742, he presented to the Swedish Academy of Sciences his paper, "Observations on Two Persistent Degrees on a Thermometer," in which he presented his observations that all thermometers should be made on a fixed scale of 100 divisions (centigrade), based on two points: 0 degrees for boiling water, and 100 degrees for freezing water. He presented his argument on the inaccuracies of existing scales and calibration methods and correctly presented the influence of air pressure on the boiling point of water.