Thermodynamic temperature in degrees Rankine are converted to kelvins by "dividing" by 1.8 ("T" = "T" ÷ 1.8). Although the kelvin and Celsius scales are defined using absolute zero (0 K) and the triple point of water (273.16 K and 0.01 °C), it is impractical to use this definition at temperatures that are very different from the triple point of water. ITS-90 is then designed to represent the thermodynamic temperature as closely as possible throughout its range. Many different thermometer designs are required to cover the entire range. These include helium vapor pressure thermometers, helium gas thermometers, standard platinum resistance thermometers (known
Absolute zero the zero was equivalent to about −240 on the Celsius scale. This close approximation to the modern value of −273.15 °C for the zero of the air-thermometer was further improved upon in 1779 by Johann Heinrich Lambert, who observed that might be regarded as absolute cold. Values of this order for the absolute zero were not, however, universally accepted about this period. Pierre-Simon Laplace and Antoine Lavoisier, in their 1780 treatise on heat, arrived at values ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 below the freezing-point of water, and thought that in any case it must be at least 600 below. John