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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]
The term degree is used in several scales of temperature, with the notable exception of kelvin, primary unit of temperature for engineering and the physical sciences. The degree symbol ° is usually used, followed by the initial letter of the unit; for example, "°C" for degree Celsius. A degree can be defined as a set change in temperature ...
Just as degrees are used to measure parts of a circle, square degrees are used to measure parts of a sphere. Analogous to one degree being equal to π / 180 radians, a square degree is equal to ( π / 180 ) 2 steradians (sr), or about 1 / 3283 sr or about 3.046 × 10 −4 sr.
The binary degree is used in computing so that an angle can be efficiently represented in a single byte (albeit to limited precision). Other measures of the angle used in computing may be based on dividing one whole turn into 2 n equal parts for other values of n. [29] It is 1 / 256 of a turn. [28] π radian: 2: 180°
A geographical mile is defined to be the length of one minute of arc along the equator (one equatorial minute of longitude) therefore a degree of longitude along the equator is exactly 60 geographical miles or 111.3 kilometers, as there are 60 minutes in a degree. The length of 1 minute of longitude along the equator is 1 geographical mile or 1 ...
Where degree of curvature is based on 100 units of arc length, the conversion between degree of curvature and radius is Dr = 18000/π ≈ 5729.57795, where D is degree and r is radius. Since rail routes have very large radii, they are laid out in chords, as the difference to the arc is inconsequential; this made work easier before electronic ...
The Rankine scale is used in engineering systems where heat computations are done using degrees Fahrenheit. [3] The symbol for degrees Rankine is °R [2] (or °Ra if necessary to distinguish it from the Rømer and Réaumur scales). By analogy with the SI unit kelvin, some authors term the unit Rankine, omitting the degree symbol. [4] [5]
Angular sizes measured in degrees are useful for larger patches of sky. (For example, the three stars of the Belt cover about 4.5° of angular size.) However, much finer units are needed to measure the angular sizes of galaxies, nebulae, or other objects of the night sky. Degrees, therefore, are subdivided as follows: 360 degrees (°) in a full ...