What ℃ means
Use your editor's Unicode hex-entry command with 2103.
The exact keystrokes depend on the editor. If it has no Unicode hex input, write the ordinary two-character form °C.
When should I use °C?
Use °C in ordinary scientific writing.
Unicode treats ℃ as a compatibility character and recommends the two-character form °C for normal text. That form is a degree sign followed by capital C.
Unicode also says searches should treat ℃ and °C as equivalent. Their encodings are different, so exact text matching may need to account for both.
Why did Celsius use a reversed scale?
To make thermometer readings comparable at fixed points.
In 1742, Anders Celsius published experiments using water's freezing and boiling points to calibrate thermometers. The scale served practical measurements such as weather, horticulture, and indoor temperatures.
Celsius's scale ran in the opposite direction from today's. Uppsala scientists reversed it after his death in 1744; the international name changed from centigrade to Celsius in 1948.
℃ is a compact technical alternative; °C is the safer default in ordinary scientific writing.
Do not use ℉ for Celsius; it denotes Fahrenheit.
Don't confuse it with
3Questions people ask
1Does Unicode search treat ℃ and °C as equivalent?
Yes. Unicode says searches should match the compact sign with the °C sequence, even though they use different encodings.
How to type ℃
℃\2103Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.