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Ten Things You Maybe Didn't Know About the Degree Reaumur

1. Created by René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur

The Réaumur scale was developed in 1730 by French scientist René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur. It was widely used in Europe, especially for industrial applications like measuring the temperature of boiling liquids.

2. Water freezes at 0 °Ré

In the Réaumur scale, the freezing point of water is 0 °Ré, and the boiling point is set at 80 °Ré. This was a big departure from other scales like Celsius, where freezing is 0 °C and boiling is 100 °C.

3. Based on the same reference points as Celsius

Just like Celsius, the Réaumur scale uses the freezing and boiling points of water, but with a different scaling system. The difference? It splits the range between freezing and boiling into 80 equal parts instead of 100.

4. Popular in Europe for a long time

The Réaumur scale was quite popular in Europe for over a century. It was widely used in France, Germany, and other countries for scientific and industrial purposes, including in the brewing industry.

5. Used in the brewing industry

One of the main areas where the Réaumur scale stuck around the longest was in brewing. Since the scale was convenient for measuring the temperature of boiling liquids and fermentation processes, it was commonly used by brewers.

6. No longer widely used

Though it was once common, the Réaumur scale has fallen out of use. Today, Celsius is the global standard, and Réaumur has mostly become a historical curiosity.

7. Different from Celsius by a factor of 1.25

The Réaumur scale and the Celsius scale are closely related—every 1 °C is equal to 1.25 °Ré. So, to convert from Celsius to Réaumur, you multiply by 1.25. Easy enough!

8. It was used in Russia for a while

While Réaumur never took off in the English-speaking world, it had a decent run in Russia, where it was officially adopted for a while. Russia eventually switched to Celsius, but Réaumur had a significant presence for many years.

9. It had its moment in history

Before Celsius became the dominant scale, the Réaumur scale was one of the top contenders. It was even used for scientific measurements, like temperature-dependent chemical reactions.

10. Part of the early days of temperature measurement

The Réaumur scale is a reminder of how temperature measurement evolved. While it didn't win out in the end, it played a significant role in the development of the scientific methods we use today.