Thermodynamic temperature straightforward; for instance, calculating how a temperature change affects the pressure inside an automobile tire. If the tire has a cold pressure of 200 kPa-gage , then in absolute terms (relative to a vacuum), its pressure is 300 kPa-absolute. Room temperature ("cold" in tire terms) is 296 K. If the tire temperature is 20 °C hotter (20 kelvins), the solution is calculated as = 6.8% greater thermodynamic temperature "and" absolute pressure; that is, a pressure of 320 kPa-absolute, which is 220 kPa-gage. The thermodynamic temperature is defined by the ideal gas law and its consequences. It can be linked also
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.