Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity per unit of time. In physics, the delta symbol (\(\Delta\)) represents change so the formula for acceleration becomes \(\vec{a} = { \Delta \vec{v} \over t }\)

More familiar in the United States is the Fahrenheit scale in which the freezing point of water is 32°F (0°C) and the boiling point is 212°F (100°C). To convert from C° to F° use the formula:

\(F° = {9 \over 5}C° + 32\)

and to convert from F° to C° use:

\(C° = {5 \over 9} (F° - 32)\)

In contrast to the Celsius scale (measured in degrees centigrade) that fixes 0° at the freezing point of water and the Fahrenheit scale that uses 32°, the Kelvin scale fixes 0° at absolute zero (-273°C) which is the lowest temperature possible in the universe.

The speed of light varies based on the material that the waves are passing through. The refractive index of a material indicates how easily light travels through it compared to how easily light travels through a vacuum. For example, the refractive index of water is 1.33, meaning that light travels 1.33 times faster in a vacuum than it does in water.

Temperatures again increase with altitude in the thermosphere which is the hottest (4,530 °F / 2,500 °C) atmospheric layer due to direct exposure to the Sun's radiation. However, the gas in this layer is highly diluted so even though the atoms of gas may be very high in temperature, there are too few of them to effectively transfer much heat.