Ambient temperature is the temperature of the surroundings. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with room temperature, but this is only appropriate in particular laboratory science contexts. "Ambient temperature" is a term that may be applied to the outdoors or to any place. Even once a context has been specified, "ambient temperature" may refer to no particular temperature. The ambient temperature of a place may vary in time as well as space. The temperature at a certain lattitude and longitude in the Sahara Desert will depend on whether it is night or day, windy or still, whether one's thermometer is one centimeter or one kilometer above the ground, etc. These variations and gradations may affect an experiment that extends over a large space or takes place over a long time. The likelihood that these differences matter and the degree of influence that experimenters expect them to have often fall short of motivating researchers to confront the challenges of measuring or controlling temperature. Nevertheless, scientists strive to be forthright in reporting their experiments. They use "ambient temperature" in effect to say, "We did not measure the temperature--it was what it was. You've been to the Sahara, haven't you?"
