The Rankine scale ( ) is an

absolute scale There is no single definition of an absolute scale. In statistics and measurement theory, it is simply a ratio scale in which the unit of measurement is fixed, and values are obtained by counting. Another definition tells us it is the count of the ...

thermodynamic temperature Thermodynamic temperature, also known as absolute temperature, is a physical quantity which measures temperature starting from absolute zero, the point at which particles have minimal thermal motion. Thermodynamic temperature is typically expres ...

named after the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Macquorn Rankine William John Macquorn Rankine (; 5 July 1820 – 24 December 1872) was a Scottish mathematician and physicist. He was a founding contributor, with Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), to the scien ...

, who proposed it in 1859.

History

Similar to the Kelvin scale, which was first proposed in 1848, zero on the Rankine scale is

absolute zero Absolute zero is the lowest possible temperature, a state at which a system's internal energy, and in ideal cases entropy, reach their minimum values. The absolute zero is defined as 0 K on the Kelvin scale, equivalent to −273.15 ° ...

, but a temperature difference of one Rankine degree (°R or °Ra) is defined as equal to one

Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a scale of temperature, temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accou ...

degree, rather than the

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

degree used on the Kelvin scale. In converting from kelvin to degrees Rankine, 1 K = °Ra or 1 K = 1.8 °Ra. A temperature of 0 K (−273.15 °C; −459.67 °F) is equal to 0 °Ra.B.8 Factors for Units Listed Alphabetically
from

Usage

The Rankine scale is used in engineering systems where heat computations are done using degrees Fahrenheit. The symbol for degrees Rankine is °R. However, historical texts referring to "°R" are much more likely to mean the historically quite common Réaumur scale. Réaumur Scale As there is also the Rømer scale, it is better to use °Ra to be unambiguous. By analogy with the SI unit

kelvin The kelvin (symbol: K) is the base unit for temperature in the International System of Units (SI). The Kelvin scale is an absolute temperature scale that starts at the lowest possible temperature (absolute zero), taken to be 0 K. By de ...

, some authors term the unit ''Rankine'', omitting the degree symbol. Some temperatures relating the Rankine scale to other temperature scales are shown in the table below.

History

Usage

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links