Rankine scale Rankine scale The Rankine scale () is an absolute scale of thermodynamic temperature named after the Glasgow University engineer and physicist William John Macquorn Rankine, who proposed it in 1859. (The Kelvin scale was first proposed in 1848.) It may be used in engineering systems where heat computations are done using degrees Fahrenheit. The symbol for degrees Rankine is °R (or °Ra if necessary to distinguish it from the Rømer and Réaumur scales). By analogy with kelvin, some authors term the unit "rankine", omitting the degree symbol. Zero on both the Kelvin and Rankine scales is absolute zero, but a
Absolute Zero (film) the atmospheric pressure in the affected zone to drop to zero. The remaining atmosphere would move to this zone and soon Earth would have no gaseous atmosphere, with a surface pressure of zero. None of these events occur in the film, although there is a drastic drop of pressure happening at the end of the film. It is impossible to reach absolute zero naturally, nor would a movement of the poles induce any reduction in Earth temperatures. However, this is explained away in the film as being a previously unknown effect. Furthermore, extremely low temperatures, at or near absolute zero,