Gareth56 Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Why is the radian used as the measurement of angular quantity in physics rather than the [more common] degree? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Not just physics. Any math or science that employs more than very basic geometry. The reason is pretty straightforward: it makes most equations and formulae simpler. This is to be expected, as it is a naturally derived measure, as opposed to an arbitrary subdivision like 360 degrees, which has nothing to do with pi. On the other hand, 360 is still user friendly for a lot of basic applications, mostly because it's evenly divisible by many whole numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janus Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Its the more "natural" unit. For example, angular momentum can be simply expressed as L= Iw, where 'w' is the angular velocity measured in radians/sec. If you were to use degrees/sec, you would have to add a factor of pi/180 to get the right answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 And don't get me started on the ugliness you get if you measure finer: degrees, arcminutes, and arcseconds. Finer still, you put a decimal point on the arcseconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Externet Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Not using base 10 for measuring angles, time, coordinates = majestic goof we carry trough centuries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swaha Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 to get some easier formulas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now