Temperature converter (°C ↔ °F)
Maintained by the Talindrew team · Last updated
Celsius converts to Fahrenheit as °F = °C × 9/5 + 32, and back as °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9. The lab anchors: 37 °C body-temperature incubation is 98.6 °F, a 72 °C polymerase extension is 161.6 °F, and a −80 °C freezer is −112 °F.
Result
°F = °C × 9/5 + 32. Bench anchors: 37 °C = 98.6 °F (incubation), 72 °C = 161.6 °F (Taq extension), −80 °C = −112 °F (freezer).
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What it looks like
Formula
°F = °C × 9/5 + 32 · °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9 · K = °C + 273.15
Worked example
Given: 37 °C incubator
- 1.°F = 37 × 9/5 + 32 = 66.6 + 32 = 98.6 °F.
- 2.K = 37 + 273.15 = 310.15 K.
37 °C = 98.6 °F = 310.15 K
How the calculation flows
Units & constants
| −80 °C (deep freezer) | −112 °F |
|---|---|
| −20 °C (freezer) | −4 °F |
| 4 °C (cold room) | 39.2 °F |
| 25 °C (room temp) | 77 °F |
| 37 °C (incubation) | 98.6 °F |
| 42 °C (heat shock) | 107.6 °F |
| 72 °C (Taq extension) | 161.6 °F |
| 95 °C (denaturation) | 203 °F |
Which lab temperatures are worth memorising?
A handful of set points cover most protocols: 4 °C for storage and slow reactions, 16 °C for overnight ligations, 37 °C for E. coli growth and most enzyme digests, 42 °C for heat shock, 65 °C for enzyme inactivation, and the PCR trio of 95 °C denaturation, 50–65 °C annealing, 72 °C extension. The spec table above gives their Fahrenheit equivalents.
When does Kelvin matter at the bench?
Any time temperature enters a thermodynamic equation, melting-temperature models, ΔG = ΔH − TΔS, Arrhenius rate estimates, the T is absolute. Nearest-neighbour Tm calculations run in Kelvin internally and convert to °C only for display.
Frequently asked questions
98.6 °F, the standard incubation temperature for E. coli culture and mammalian cells alike, and historically quoted as normal human body temperature.
−40°. Setting C = F in the conversion gives C = C × 9/5 + 32, which solves to −40, the one point where both scales read the same.
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