RANKINE

An absolute temperature scale named after William Rankine (1820-1872) that has the same degree size as the Fahrenheit scale but was extended down to absolute zero (0° R is -459.6° F), which refers to the temperature at which all molecular motion would theoretically cease (i.e., the zero pressure for a gas). In this scale the freezing point of water is 492° R and the boiling point is 672° R. It is a resetting of the Fahrenheit scale to reflect thermodynamic principles and eliminate the need for negative numbers. Temperatures very close to absolute zero have been produced in the laboratory.