Why does the US remain faithful to Fahrenheit?
You've probably wondered more than once why Americans use these Fahrenheits in the first place? Why can't everyone use the normal metric system? For example, people in Europe and Asia rarely encounter the use of the Fahrenheit scale. It may appear as an option in weather apps or in American movies. UK websites sometimes add temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit to headlines to alert readers to extreme heat. For example, instead of specifying a temperature of +38 °C, you can use the equivalent value of 100 °F, which is a kind of clickbait.
How did Fahrenheit degrees come about? The Fahrenheit scale was proposed by the German physicist and thermal engineer Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1724. The first point on the thermometer was zero, which corresponds to the temperature of a mixture of water, ice and ammonia (-17.8°C). The second point was the temperature of the human body. The interval between them was divided into 96 equal parts - degrees Fahrenheit. Subsequently, this scale was improved and made more accurate in accordance with international standards, however, the basis of Fahrenheit remained the same. Now the first value is the freezing point of water (32°F), and the second is its boiling point (212°F). The gap between them was divided into 180 parts, obtaining new degrees Fahrenheit.
So why do Americans still use the Fahrenheit scale when the rest of the world has switched to Celsius? It is important to note that attempts have been made in the United States to switch to the metric system, which includes the Celsius scale. In 1975, the Metric Conversion Act was passed, which introduced the metric system of measurements. The country introduced two measurement systems, which caused confusion. However, the transition was intended to be voluntary, and Americans did not consider it necessary to change their old habits.
Finally, in 1982, President Reagan canceled the metric campaign. According to a 2015 poll, only 21% of the US population supported the idea of switching to metric measurements, despite the convenience benefits of the metric system. However, the metric system still became the standard in American science and at NASA. Of course, using two different measurement systems led to confusion and large financial losses. In particular, due to errors in navigation data, the $1999 million Mars Polar Lander space probe was lost in 125. As a result, NASA accelerated the transition to the metric system and completely abandoned miles, feet, and other non-metric units. In everyday life, Americans remain true to their habits - no one wants to experience discomfort and relearn, giving up their usual values.
The second argument in favor of using the Fahrenheit scale is related to its convenience for weather forecasting. The difference between the freezing and boiling points of water on the Celsius scale is 100 degrees, while on the Fahrenheit scale it is 180. This means that when using °F, you can report temperature with up to 80% accuracy without the need to use decimals.
Author: Anton Nayanzin
