Convert Temperature Units
All other values will be converted automatically and immediately.
Conversion Factors for Temperature Units
Description of Common Temperature Units
Degrees Celsius
The Celsius scale is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius.
Fixed Points:
On the Celsius scale used today, the freezing point of water is
0 °C and its boiling point at standard pressure is
100 °C.
The scale is divided into 100 equal temperature intervals.
Usage:
Celsius is used in everyday life and in technology in most countries around the world.
Degrees Fahrenheit
The Fahrenheit scale is named after the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit.
Fixed points:
Originally, Fahrenheit used as the lower fixed point the lowest temperature he
could achieve with a mixture of ice, water, and ammonium chloride. The other
fixed point was the body temperature of a healthy person. Later, the scale
was defined such that the freezing point of water is 32 °F
and the boiling point at standard pressure is 212 °F.
Usage:
Fahrenheit is used today primarily in the United States, as well as, for example, to some extent
in some English-speaking countries for weather and everyday temperatures.
Kelvin
The Kelvin scale is named after the British physicist William Thomson, Baron Kelvin
It is the international thermodynamic temperature scale.
Fixed point:
The zero point corresponds to absolute zero at 0 K.
One Kelvin corresponds to the same temperature difference as one degree Celsius.
The freezing point of water is approximately 273.15 K.
Usage:
Kelvin is primarily used in physics, chemistry, and the technical sciences.
Temperature differences are usually expressed in Kelvin.
The unit symbol is K, not °K.
Rankine Degree
The Rankine scale is named after the Scottish physicist and engineer William John Macquorn Rankine.
It is an absolute temperature scale whose zero point is at absolute zero.
Fixed point:
Absolute zero corresponds to 0 °R. One Rankine is equal to one degree Fahrenheit.
The freezing point of water is approximately 491.67 °R.
Usage:
The Rankine scale is used primarily in the United States, particularly in technical and thermodynamic
applications.
Historical Temperature Units and Scales:
- Delisle (°De)
- Leiden (°L)
- Newton (°N)
- Réaumur (°Ré)
- Rømer (°Rø)
- Wedgwood (°W)
Other historical temperature scales and measurement methods:
- Amontons-Skala
- Dalton-Skala
- Eis-Punkt-Skala
- Gasthermometer-Skala
- Hales-Skala
All technical articles published on pt100.de with attribution were written or reviewed by Harald Peters himself.
Author of this article:
Harald Peters – Technical author for temperature measurement technology