Degree (temperature)
Term used in defining several scales of temperature
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Through Scale of temperature, Kelvin and Engineering
Scales of temperature measured in degrees
Common scales of temperature measured in degrees:
- Celsius (°C)
- Fahrenheit (°F)
- Rankine (°R or °Ra), which uses the Fahrenheit scale, adjusted so that 0 degrees Rankine is equal to absolute zero.
Unlike the degree Fahrenheit and degree Celsius, the kelvin is no longer referred to or written as a degree (but was before 1967). The kelvin is the primary unit of temperature measurement in the physical sciences, but is often used in conjunction with the degree Celsius, which has the same magnitude.
Other scales of temperature:
- Delisle (°D)
- Newton (°N)
- Réaumur (°Ré)
- Rømer (°Rø)
- Wedgwood (°W)
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Kelvin
The "degree Kelvin" (°K) is a former name and symbol for the SI unit of temperature on the thermodynamic (absolute) temperature scale. Since 1967, it has been known simply as the kelvin, with symbol K (without a degree symbol). Degree absolute (°A) is obsolete terminology, often referring specifically to the kelvin but sometimes the degree Rankine as well.
Comparisons
- Boiling point of water: 100.0 °C / 212.0 °F
- Melting point of ice: 0.0 °C / 32.0 °F
- Typical human body temperature: 37.0 °C / 98.6 °F
- Room temperature: 20–25 °C / 68–77 °F
Temperature conversions
All three of the major temperature scales are related through a linear equation, and so the conversion between any of them is relatively straightforward. For instance, any Celsius temperature c °C can be calculated from a corresponding Fahrenheit temperature f °F or absolute temperature k K.
The equations above may also be rearranged to solve for or , to give