Self-contained breathing apparatus pressure changes with ambient temperature. As temperature decreases, the pressure inside the cylinder decreases. The relationship between the temperature and the pressure of a gas is defined by the formula "PV" = "nRT". (See Universal gas constant.) What is particularly important to understand from the formula is that the temperature is in kelvins, not degrees Fahrenheit. Consider the freezing point of water at 32 °F (0 °C, 273.15 K) and compare it to 96 °F (35.6 °C or 308.71 K; normal human body temperature is 37 °C). While 96 is arithmetically three times 32, the difference in temperature from a
Temperature gradient Temperature gradient A temperature gradient is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the temperature changes the most rapidly around a particular location. The temperature gradient is a dimensional quantity expressed in units of degrees (on a particular temperature scale) per unit length. The SI unit is kelvin per meter (K/m). It can be found in the formula for dQ/dt, the rate of heat transfer per second. Temperature gradients in the atmosphere are important in the atmospheric sciences (meteorology, climatology and related fields). Assuming that the temperature "T" is an intensive quantity, i.e., a single-valued,