Today, most countries around the world use the Celsius temperature scale instead, many having made the change during their metrication processes (conversion to using the metric system of units).

Later, when using the freezing and boiling points of water as fixed reference points for thermometers became popular, the scale was slightly re-defined such that there would be 180 degrees separating freezing and boiling point, resulting in normal human body temperature being approximately 98☏, rather than Fahrenheit's 96☏.Ĭurrent use: Until the 1960's the Fahrenheit scale was the primary scale used in English-speaking countries. He chose these values to simplify the degree markings he could make on his instruments, since this difference between the temperatures allowed him to mark degree lines by bisecting the interval six times. He later adjusted the scale such that the melting point of ice was 32☏ and body temperature was 96☏. He initially based the scale on an equal ice-salt mixture, selecting the values of 30☏ for the freezing point of water, and 90☏ for normal body temperature. History/Origin: The Fahrenheit scale was developed based on a measurement proposed in 1724 by the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit. The interval between the freezing and boiling point is divided into 180 equal parts. It is currently defined by two fixed points: the temperature at which water freezes, 32☏, and the boiling point of water, 212☏, both at sea level and standard atmospheric pressure. Definition: The Fahrenheit (symbol: ☏) is a unit of temperature that was widely used prior to metrication.

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