Why Is Absolute Zero A Negative Number?

Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and at 0 degrees Centigrade (Celsius). The freezing of water is important on several levels: Scientific, cultural, economic, and ecologic. It has been going on since before man learned to write down that it happens. The two previously mentioned temperature scales have been around for 200 years or less, but are the world's standards. The concept of Absolute Zero is relatively new in the picture when one looks at all of science. Absolute Zero is a whole lot colder than frozen water. Fahrenheit only has 32 degrees to go down to zero from freezing, and Celsius is already there. Anything colder is "Less Than Zero", a negative number.

The Absolute value has never been negative; the absolute value of any number only asks how far? And not in which direction? This explanation means that | 4 | = 4, because 4 is four units to the right of zero, but also that | –4 | = 4, because –4 is four units to the left of zero