Convert Wedgwood to Rankine without the headache
1 °W x 130.77 * 9÷5 + 491.67 = 727.056 °R
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Picture this: you're elbow-deep in 18th-century pottery archives when suddenly, bam! Temperatures recorded in Wedgwood units. Meanwhile, your aerospace engineer friend keeps ranting about Rankine scales. Worlds collide, right? That's where our conversion tool swoops in like a time-traveling superhero
Unit definitions
What is a wedgwood (°W)?
Description: An obsolete temperature scale from the pottery world, born from Josiah Wedgwood's kiln experiments.
Symbol: °W
Common uses: Measuring ceramic firing temps circa 1782
Definition: 1°W ≈ 130.77°C, based on clay shrinkage patterns
What is a rankine (°R)?
Description: The Fahrenheit equivalent of Kelvin, used in thermodynamic equations.
Symbol: °R
Common uses: US engineering systems, vintage thermodynamics textbooks
Definition: 0°R = absolute zero, with Fahrenheit-degree increments
Conversion formula
Rankine = (Wedgwood × 130.77 × 9/5) + 491.67
Or if you prefer words: Take your Wedgwood value, multiply by 235.386 (that's 130.77 × 1.8), then add 491.67 to reach Rankine.
Example calculations
- Converting 3°W to °R:
3 × 235.386 = 706.16
706.16 + 491.67 = 1197.83°R - Converting 5.5°W to °R:
5.5 × 235.386 = 1294.62
1294.62 + 491.67 = 1786.29°R
Conversion tables
Wedgwood to Rankine
| °W | °R |
|---|---|
| 1 | 727.05 |
| 2 | 962.44 |
| 3 | 1197.83 |
| 4 | 1433.22 |
| 5 | 1668.61 |
| 6 | 1904.00 |
| 7 | 2139.39 |
| 8 | 2374.78 |
| 9 | 2610.17 |
| 10 | 2845.56 |
Rankine to Wedgwood
| °R | °W |
|---|---|
| 500 | 0.06 |
| 1000 | 2.16 |
| 1500 | 4.27 |
| 2000 | 6.38 |
| 2500 | 8.49 |
| 3000 | 10.60 |
From clay kilns to rocket science
Our story begins in 1782 England, where Josiah Wedgwood (yes, the pottery magnate) got frustrated with mercury thermometers shattering in kilns. His solution? Create a temperature scale based on how much clay cylinders shrank when fired. Each "Wedgwood degree" corresponded to specific shrinkage increments, making it the Pyrex of its day.
Jump forward 80 years, and Scottish physicist William Rankine enters stage left. His eponymous scale gave engineers a Fahrenheit-based absolute temperature system, perfect for steam engine calculations. While Kelvin became the global standard, Rankine carved out a niche in American engineering circles.
The irony? These two scales represent opposite ends of measurement philosophy. Wedgwood was tactile and practical ("Does the clay fit the mold?"), while Rankine was theoretical and precise. Converting between them feels like translating poetry into quantum physics equations. Yet here we are, bridging that gap with digital tools Wedgwood couldn't have imagined while stoking his coal-fired ovens.
Interesting facts
- Wedgwood's original clay test pieces were called "pyrometric beads"
- 10°W (≈1307°C) approaches the melting point of silver
- NASA used Rankine in early rocket engine designs
- Modern potters rarely exceed 6°W for stoneware glazes
- The Rankine scale circles back to Fahrenheit: water boils at 671.67°R
FAQ
It's mostly for historical research or niche engineering projects where old pottery kiln data meets modern thermodynamics.
Practically extinct. You'll only encounter it in antique ceramics literature or museum conservation notes.
Approximate, since Wedgwood measurements relied on clay shrinkage rather than precise instruments.
Only if you're analyzing historical processes. Modern science uses Kelvin or Celsius instead.
Old habits die hard, especially in US aerospace where Fahrenheit-based systems lingered into the 20th century.