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Minus zero

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Playbill | 20:28 Fri 03rd Feb 2006 | How it Works
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I have an air band radio tuned into a local airport control tower for weather information. Several times recently the temperature has been given as 'minus zero'.


As temperatures are always given in whole numbers (no half degrees) I would have thought the first temperature figure below zero would be 'minus 1'.


Can any mathematician/pilot/meteorologist explain minus zero in this context?

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I am sure someone will answer as I don't know but there was this exchange a while back on AB and one of the people replying offered an explanation re ice, so maybe that would be relevant for a plane taking off ????


www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Science/Question185752.html


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Thanks lady-p-gold there are some interesting and conflicting answers there.
I believe the answers given by myself and Peter in that link above are correct.
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You and Peter may be correct fo3nix, but they refer to readings from a computer. The information I hear is being spoken by a human voice over the radio.


Or am I being a bit naive thinking he or she gets the information from a thermometer nailed to the wall outside the control tower?

I assume they get the reading from a computer, and just read it out loud.

This is usually done when only whole numbers are used


-0 will mean somewhere between -1 and 0


0 will mean somewhere between 0 and +1

To avoid any confusion with mishearing one-zero,two-zero or three-zero, and to emphasise that it is a freezing temperature.
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This makes sense gpbutler as other numerical information is given in a clear, precise way e.g.127.24 is given as '127 decimal 24' .


Thanks to all the others who posted answers.


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