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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.
A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually denoted by ° (the degree symbol), is a measurement of a plane angle in which one full rotation is 360 degrees. [4] It is not an SI unit—the SI unit of angular measure is the radian—but it is mentioned in the SI brochure as an accepted unit. [5]
[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, as well as radians and degrees, for their trigonometric functions . [ 23 ]
In degrees Description radian: 2π: ≈57°17′ The radian is determined by the circumference of a circle that is equal in length to the radius of the circle (n = 2 π = 6.283...). It is the angle subtended by an arc of a circle that has the same length as the circle's radius. The symbol for radian is rad.
provided the angle is measured in radians. Angles measured in degrees must first be converted to radians by multiplying them by / . These approximations have a wide range of uses in branches of physics and engineering, including mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, cartography, astronomy, and computer science.
Since the angular distance (or separation) is conceptually identical to an angle, it is measured in the same units, such as degrees or radians, using instruments such as goniometers or optical instruments specially designed to point in well-defined directions and record the corresponding angles (such as telescopes).
Additionally, an angle that is a rational multiple of radians is constructible if and only if, when it is expressed as / radians, where a and b are relatively prime integers, the prime factorization of the denominator, b, is the product of some power of two and any number of distinct Fermat primes (a Fermat prime is a prime number one greater ...
If every internal angle of a simple polygon is less than a straight angle (π radians or 180°), then the polygon is called convex. In contrast, an external angle (also called a turning angle or exterior angle) is an angle formed by one side of a simple polygon and a line extended from an adjacent side. [1]: pp. 261–264