XPost: sci.physics, sci.astro   
   From: owen@gwynnefamily.org.uk   
      
   "Binary Object"  wrote in message   
   news:99b2377f.0312091245.276ba801@posting.google.com...   
   > Why is absolute zero approximately -460 F, yet the maximum   
   > possible amount of heat is seemingly infinite?  There is   
   > certainly an asymmetry.  Why is there no upper bound for   
   > heat?  Why is there a lower bound for cold?   
      
   Temperature depends on the kinetic energy of the atoms and molecules in a   
   body.   
      
   As energy is added the temperature increases, and conversely as energy is   
   removed, the temperature drops.   
      
   There is a finite amount of kinetic energy available in a body that can be   
   extracted, so when all the energy has gone we reach absolute zero at which   
   (in theory), all atoms will be motionless.   
      
   That is why there is a lower bound for our temperature scale.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)