Has anyone else noticed that the Ray Bradbury novel, Fahrenheit 451, from which Michael Moore got the title idea for Fahrenheit 911, could also be called Rankine 911? That is, 451 degrees Fahrenheit is approximately 911 degrees Rankine.
What is Rankine, you ask? Rankine is to Fahrenheit what Kelvins are to Celsius. Do you know what Kelvin is? If not, then here is the explanation: Kelvin and Rankine are two temperature scales that use the same units as Celsius and Fahrenheit, respectively, but which are zeroed at absolute zero. Absolute zero is -273 degrees Celsius and -460 degrees Fahrenheit. So Kelvins (of all four scales, Kelvin is the only one to forego use of the term "degree") = degrees Celsius + 273, and degrees Rankine = degrees Fahrenheit + 460. 451 + 460 = 911. So voila, Rankine 911.
UPDATE: I am not the only person to have noticed this.
1 comment:
i have noticed this, and had set my twitter name to this a few years ago.
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