Degree (temperature)

The term degree is used in several scales of temperature. The symbol ° is usually used, followed by the initial letter of the unit, for example “°C” for degree(s) Celsius. A degree can be defined as a set change in temperature measured against a given scale, for example, one degree Celsius is one hundredth of the temperature change between the point at which water starts to change state from solid to liquid state and the point at which it starts to change from its gaseous state to liquid.

Scales of temperature measured in degrees

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.

Other scales of temperature:

Delisle (°De)
Newton (°N)
Réaumur (°R)
Rømer (°Rø)
Wedgwood (°W)

Kelvin

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 Since 1967 it has been known simply as the kelvin, with symbol K (without a degree symbol).^[1] Degree absolute (°A) is obsolete terminology, often referring specifically to the kelvin but sometimes the degree Rankine as well.