Temperature holds. There have not yet been successful experiments of this same kind that directly use the Fermi–Dirac distribution for thermometry, but perhaps that will be achieved in future. Temperature is one of the principal quantities in the study of thermodynamics. The Kelvin scale is called absolute for two reasons. One is that its formal character is independent of the properties of particular materials. The other reason is that its zero is in a sense absolute, in that it indicates absence of microscopic classical motion of the constituent particles of matter, so that they have a limiting specific heat of zero
What Is Life? movement of the celestial bodies and the behaviour of mechanical devices such as clocks. But even those are influenced by thermal and frictional forces. The degree to which a system functions mechanically or statistically depends on the temperature. If heated, a clock ceases to function, because it melts. Conversely, if the temperature approaches absolute zero, any system behaves more and more mechanically. Some systems approach this mechanical behaviour rather fast with room temperature already being practically equivalent to absolute zero. Schrödinger concludes this chapter and the book with philosophical speculations on determinism, free will, and the mystery of human consciousness.