Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Ran·kine Pronunciation:
'ra[ng]-k&n Function:
adjective : being, according to, or relating to an absolute-temperature scale on whichthe unit of measurement equals a Fahrenheit degree and on which the freezing point of water is 491.67° and the boiling point 671.67°
Rankine,
William John Macquorn(1820–1872), British physicist and engineer. Rankine was one of the founders of the science of thermodynamics. In 1843 he published a paper on metal fatigue in railway axles that attractedthe attention of physicists and railway engineers and brought about new methods of construction. He published in 1858 a
Manual of Applied Mechanics that became a classic text for designingengineers and architects, and a year later he introduced a manual on the steam engine that was the first attempt at a systematic treatment of steam-engine theory.
[rang-kin] 
kɪn