The Problem of Coordination: Temperature as a Physical Quantity

A physical quantity is related to measurement, but the concept of a physical quantity is not reducible to measurement. This issue is examined using temperature as an example within the framework of the problem of coordination introduced by Bas van Fraassen. The problem of coordination involves two levels of consideration. The first stage examines the modern state of art, when a physical quantity is related to a theory of physics. The second stage concerns the history of the development of the corresponding theory of physics. The views on the measurement of physical quantities of 19th-century physicists Helmholtz, Mach, and Duhem are also considered. This demonstrates the continuity of van Fraassen's views with discussions at the end of the 19th century.