Do you think there's an upper limit on temperature?

[darkxshade]

Inspired by the cool facts about the sun thread.

So it got me thinking, we've already discovered absolute zero as the lower limit on how cold something can get. I'm no scientist so I'm not sure how it got discovered but I'm guessing one could assume that conclusion over time after many failed attempts to lower the temperature any further on an experiment.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it would be impossible for us to measure the upper limit through experimentation because even if we got it to as high as the temperature at the surface of the sun for example, it would burn down the continent. But do you think such a limit even exists? Any theories on what that limit may be and why? It's hard to imagine something not being able to get any hotter but the same could be said about the opposite. If you don't believe there's a upper limit, then do you think it would be possible for something to become so hot that even from a trillion light years away could radiate enough heat across space over time to burn us alive?

That is all!

 

[nakedfrog]

Pass the dutchie, man.

 

[NuclearNed]

I don't know, but things don't get much hotter than Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball.

 

[Eli]

Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

:laugh:

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Eli
Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

:laugh:

probably not

 

[Vehemence]

My upper limit is around 79'F, my lower limit is around 60'F. Anything in between is perfect!

 

[Psynaut]

Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

Hey cool, that makes a lot of sense. So what temperature would it be when molecules are moving at the speed of light?

 

[spidey07]

Well there's already been proof of faster than light particles so I really don't think there is an upper bound to temperature.

But if you want hot look at the estimates of the big bang and you'll likely find temps have never been that high since because that was the whole "regular physics don't work here" time.

 

[finite automaton]

Absolute zero means an object has no heat energy.

The opposite would mean that an object had an infinite amount of heat energy (obviously, not possible)

Edited for clarity.

 

[sponge008]

Doesn't traveling at the speed of light mean infinite energy?

(addition: but only massless particles do so, I believe)

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

Heat is energy.

When something becomes hot, its molecules have a lot of thermal energy. Keep adding energy and solids melt and liquids vaporize as their thermal energy exceeds the forces that bind their atoms together.

Add more energy and atoms become electrons and plasma. Add more energy, and the temperature will continue to rise.

Since there is a limit to the total amount of energy in the universe, there is a limit to how hot something could become.

They estimate that the temperature of the newborn universe was 1032ºK. That's hot.

Obviously we could never harness all the energy in the universe, so it is not possible to reach the highest possible temperature.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

Heat is energy.

When something becomes hot, its molecules have a lot of thermal energy. Keep adding energy and solids melt and liquids vaporize as their thermal energy exceeds the forces that bind their atoms together.

Add more energy and atoms become electrons and plasma. Add more energy, and the temperature will continue to rise.

Since there is a limit to the total amount of energy in the universe, there is a limit to how hot something could become.

They estimate that the temperature of the newborn universe was 1032ºK. That's hot.

Obviously we could never harness all the energy in the universe, so it is not possible to reach the highest possible temperature.

I wouldn't rule that out quite yet, just think of all the energy spent posting and replying to threads in AT

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Eli
Obviously we could never harness all the energy in the universe, so it is not possible to reach the highest possible temperature.

Speak for yourself, mister! :shiftyeyes;

 

[finite automaton]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

Heat is energy.

When something becomes hot, its molecules have a lot of thermal energy. Keep adding energy and solids melt and liquids vaporize as their thermal energy exceeds the forces that bind their atoms together.

Add more energy and atoms become electrons and plasma. Add more energy, and the temperature will continue to rise.

Since there is a limit to the total amount of energy in the universe, there is a limit to how hot something could become.

They estimate that the temperature of the newborn universe was 1032ºK. That's hot.

Obviously we could never harness all the energy in the universe, so it is not possible to reach the highest possible temperature.

But it would only be the upper limit because there's no more energy. (Did that make any sense?)

Absolute zero is the limit because you can't have -1k EVER.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: finite automaton

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

Heat is energy.

When something becomes hot, its molecules have a lot of thermal energy. Keep adding energy and solids melt and liquids vaporize as their thermal energy exceeds the forces that bind their atoms together.

Add more energy and atoms become electrons and plasma. Add more energy, and the temperature will continue to rise.

Since there is a limit to the total amount of energy in the universe, there is a limit to how hot something could become.

They estimate that the temperature of the newborn universe was 1032ºK. That's hot.

Obviously we could never harness all the energy in the universe, so it is not possible to reach the highest possible temperature.

But it would only be the upper limit because there's no more energy. (Did that make any sense?)

Absolute zero is the limit because you can't have -1k EVER.

To heat something to infinity, you would need something hotter than infinity.

That isn't possible.

Edit: I do understand what you're saying, but thats what it boils down to. If it was possible to have infinite energy, then I suppose it would be possible to heat something to infinity. But it's not, so ..

 

[finite automaton]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: finite automaton

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Isn't temperature determined by the movement of molecules? Absolute freezing would be when the molecules stop moving altogether. So conversely, if the speed of light is the fastest anytthing can move (which I guess is questionable) then the hotest anything could get would be the temperature achieved when the molecules move at the speed of light.

Admitedly, I am not a scientist and this is pure conjecture. I'm just trying to apply logic to a question I don't really know anything about.

Heat is energy.

When something becomes hot, its molecules have a lot of thermal energy. Keep adding energy and solids melt and liquids vaporize as their thermal energy exceeds the forces that bind their atoms together.

Add more energy and atoms become electrons and plasma. Add more energy, and the temperature will continue to rise.

Since there is a limit to the total amount of energy in the universe, there is a limit to how hot something could become.

They estimate that the temperature of the newborn universe was 1032ºK. That's hot.

Obviously we could never harness all the energy in the universe, so it is not possible to reach the highest possible temperature.

But it would only be the upper limit because there's no more energy. (Did that make any sense?)

Absolute zero is the limit because you can't have -1k EVER.

To heat something to infinity, you would need something hotter than infinity.

That isn't possible.

Doh

But didn't you just strengthen my argument?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: finite automaton
Doh

But didn't you just strengthen my argument?

See my edit..

 

[Farang]

It boils down to this question being too hot to handle no matter the burning desire those flaming scientists have to cook up an answer to it.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Farang
It boils down to this question being too hot to handle no matter the burning desire those flaming scientists have to cook up an answer to it.

clever :thumbsup:

 

[Throckmorton]

I guess the limit is when molecules are moving at the speed of light

 

[BoomerD]

IIRC, our sun is actually a fairly cool star. There are some stars which burn at a MUCH hotter temp than ours does.

 

[DrPizza]

It's probably worth pointing out that the temperature of the surface of the sun is about 6000 degrees C; it's relatively cool compared to the rest of the sun - both the core, and the corona. Intuitively, people think that the surface of the sun is the hottest part of the sun. I don't know why, but it isn't. The core of the sun is 15.7 MILLION degrees C. The temperature of the corona is about 5 MILLION degrees C. So, 6000 degrees C at the surface is pretty cold; relatively speaking. Nonetheless, temperature is a somewhat meaningless statistic; or at least, misunderstood. For example, the thermosphere around the earth reaches temperatures of 1000 degrees C. But, because the air is so thin there, that really doesn't represent a lot of energy.

 

[BoomerD]

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.g...se/starlog/staspe.html

Based on the spectral estimations of other stars, our sun is actually a fairly cool-burning star...

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
IIRC, our sun is actually a fairly cool star. There are some stars which burn at a MUCH hotter temp than ours does.

Very much hotter. :Q

Hottest star's surface temperature = ~220,000ºK.

Our sun's surface temperature = 5780ºK.

Frigid in comparison..