thumb | right | alt=A man with a beard and curly hair sitting at a table with an open book. | W.J. Rankine
The Rankine scale ( ) is an absolute scale of thermodynamic temperature named after the University of Glasgow engineer and physicist W. J. M. Rankine, who proposed it in 1859. zero on the Rankine scale is absolute zero, but a temperature difference of one Rankine degree (°R or °Ra) is defined as equal to one Fahrenheit degree, rather than the Celsius degree used on the Kelvin scale. In converting from kelvin to degrees Rankine, or . A temperature of is equal to .
Usage
The Rankine scale is used in engineering systems where heat computations are done using degrees Fahrenheit.
The symbol for degrees Rankine is °R
Some temperatures relating the Rankine scale to other temperature scales are shown in the table below.
<div class="noresize">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="5" |Scale
|-
! scope="col" | Kelvin
! scope="col" | Rankine
! scope="col" | Fahrenheit
! scope="col" | Celsius
! scope="col" | Réaumur
|-
! rowspan="4" |Temperature
! scope="row" | Absolute zero
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | Freezing point of brine
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | Freezing point of water
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | Boiling point of water
|
|
|}
</div>
See also
- Outline of metrology and measurement
- Comparison of temperature scales