Temperature for zero temperature, according to the third law of thermodynamics. Nevertheless, a Kelvin temperature does in fact have a definite numerical value that has been arbitrarily chosen by tradition and is dependent on the property of a particular materials; it is simply less arbitrary than relative "degrees" scales such as Celsius and Fahrenheit. Being an absolute scale with one fixed point (zero), there is only one degree of freedom left to arbitrary choice, rather than two as in relative scales. For the Kelvin scale in modern times, this choice of convention is made to be that of setting the gas–liquid–solid
Absolute zero energy. The laws of thermodynamics indicate that absolute zero cannot be reached using only thermodynamic means, because the temperature of the substance being cooled approaches the temperature of the cooling agent asymptotically, and a system at absolute zero still possesses quantum mechanical zero-point energy, the energy of its ground state at absolute zero. The kinetic energy of the ground state cannot be removed. Scientists and technologists routinely achieve temperatures close to absolute zero, where matter exhibits quantum effects such as superconductivity and superfluidity. At temperatures near , nearly all molecular motion ceases and Δ"S" = 0 for any adiabatic process,