ydoaPs Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I know what Radians and Degrees are, but what are Grads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Refsmmat Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gon Gon and Grad is the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 When are they used? Why were they developed? Why not just stick with Radians or degrees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I believed they're used a lot in Engineering. They were developed by the French during their attempts to make everything metric (right angle = 100 rads) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 it sounds easier, but don't radians work better with math? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuhrerkeebs Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Radians do work better when you're trying to do something that involves differentiation or integration or something else like that, because you have to bring a factor to the outside of the cos, sin, tan...etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 So, to restate my question, what the bloody hell are they used for? I have never heard of them until I saw the mode on my old scientific calculator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolecularMan14 Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Its just another system of measurement. Some people (The French) like it because it simplifies things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandrakeRoot Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 I think this system has been abandoned a long time ago. Like degrees, they are not used in scientific circles. Mandrake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt grime Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 For some reason I seem to remember reading that the military (UK) used grads for artillery finding 400 more practical for people to work with in their heads: 100 per quadrant, 50 for, erm, octant??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandrakeRoot Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Possible. I have never once seen anybody use this system. Mandrake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I think this system has been abandoned a long time ago. Like degrees, they are not used in scientific circles. Mandrake Degrees aren't used in scientific circles? Radians are useful for theory, but degrees are far more practical. Astronomers, for instance, use arcseconds and arcminutes for their measurements, and those are based on degrees. Technically they can be converted to radians, but if you're an astronomer, what's more convenient: knowing an arcminute is 1/60th of a degree, or knowing that it is pi/10800 radians? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandrakeRoot Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Ok you got me there. I was talking of mathematical scientific circles. Though i dont see why knowing an arcminute is Pi/108000 radians would pose a problem ? It stays the same object right ? Mandrake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 i think radians are easier than degrees. pi=180 degrees, so any fraction of 1(ignoring the pi) is in the first two quadrants.2pi=360 so, anything above 1 and below 2(ignoring the pi) is in the last two quadrants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 There's no doubt about it, radians are a much more 'natural' way of measuring angles. 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