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A minute of arc is π / 10 800 of a radian. A second of arc, arcsecond (arcsec), or arc second, denoted by the symbol ″, [2] is 1 / 60 of an arcminute, 1 / 3600 of a degree, [1] 1 / 1 296 000 of a turn, and π / 648 000 (about 1 / 206 264.8 ) of a radian.
An arc of a circle with the same length as the radius of that circle corresponds to an angle of 1 radian. A full circle corresponds to a full turn, or approximately 6.28 radians, which is expressed here using the Greek letter tau (τ). Some special angles in radians, stated in terms of 𝜏. A comparison of angles expressed in degrees and radians.
Fractions of a degree may be written in normal decimal notation (e.g., 3.5° for three and a half degrees), but the "minute" and "second" sexagesimal subunits of the "degree–minute–second" system (discussed next) are also in use, especially for geographical coordinates and in astronomy and ballistics (n = 360) arcminute: 21,600: 0°1′
[18] [19] Today, the degree, 1 / 360 of a turn, or the mathematically more convenient radian, 1 / 2 π of a turn (used in the SI system of units) is generally used instead. In the 1970s – 1990s, most scientific calculators offered the gon (gradian), as well as radians and degrees, for their trigonometric functions. [23]
Degrees are traditionally used in navigation, surveying, and many applied disciplines, while radians are more common in mathematics and mathematical physics. [ 9 ] The angle φ is defined to start at 0° from a reference direction , and to increase for rotations in either clockwise (cw) or counterclockwise (ccw) orientation.
The unit of angular measure used in those methods may be called binary radian (brad) or binary degree. These representation of angles are often used in numerical control and digital signal processing applications, such as robotics, navigation, [ 3 ] computer games, [ 4 ] and digital sensors, [ 5 ] taking advantage of the implicit modular ...
One radian is defined as the angle at the center of a circle in a plane that subtends an arc whose length equals the radius of the circle. [6] More generally, the magnitude in radians of a subtended angle is equal to the ratio of the arc length to the radius of the circle; that is, =, where θ is the magnitude in radians of the subtended angle, s is arc length, and r is radius.
Angular distance or angular separation is the measure of the angle between the orientation of two straight lines, rays, or vectors in three-dimensional space, or the central angle subtended by the radii through two points on a sphere.