Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot.
Quantitatively, temperature is measured with thermometers, which may be calibrated to a variety of temperature scales.
Thermal vibration of a segment of protein alpha helix. The amplitude of the vibrations increases with temperature.
Temperature plays an important role in all fields of natural science, including physics, geology, chemistry, atmospheric sciences and biology.
In a microscopic explanation, the temperature of a body varies with the speed of the fundamental particles that it contains, raised to the second power. Therefore, temperature is tied directly to the mean kinetic energy of particles moving relative to the center of mass coordinates for that object.
