Degree (temperature)

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 not referred to or written as a degree. 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)

(Measurement of temperature)

"Degrees Kelvin" (°K) is a former name 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 Since 1967 it has been known simply as the kelvin, with symbol K (without a degree symbol).[1] Degree absolute (°A) is obsolete terminology, often referring specifically to the kelvin but sometimes the degree Rankine as well.

• 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[2]

All three of the major units of temperature are linearly dependent, and so the conversion between any of them is relatively straightforward. For instance, any centigrade temperature ${\displaystyle c}$ measured in °C can be calculated from a corresponding value ${\displaystyle f}$ in degrees Fahrenheit or ${\displaystyle k}$ Kelvin, by

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}c\;=\;{\frac {5}{9}}(f-32)\;=\;k-273.15\end{aligned}}}$

The equations above may also be rearranged to solve for ${\displaystyle f}$ or ${\displaystyle k}$, to give

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}f\;&=\;{\frac {9}{5}}c+32\;=\;{\frac {9}{5}}(k-273.15)+32\\k\;&=\;c+273.15\;=\;{\frac {5}{9}}(f-32)+273.15\end{aligned}}}$

• Comparison of temperature scales
• Degree sign
• International System of Units