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| Convert from radian to grad |
Unit Definition (radian) The radian is a unit of angle measure widely used in mathematics and science. One radian is the angle at the center of a circle that cuts off an arc of length equal to the radius. Since the circumference equals 2 pi times the radius, one radian equals 1/(2 pi) of the circle, or approximately 57.295 779°. Using radians to measure angles seems unnatural at first. However, when angles are stated in radians the constant pi tends to disappear from the equations, and this greatly simplifies calculation. For example, the length of an arc is simply its radius multiplied by its angular measure in radians, and the area of a sector of a circle is simply its angular measure in radians multiplied by half the square of the radius. The radian was defined and named by James Thomson in 1873. Thomson was a mathematics professor at Queen's College, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the brother of the famous physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin. Unit Definition (grad) The grad is a unit of angle measurement equal to 1/400 circle, 0.01 right angle, 0.9°, or 54'. This unit was introduced in France, where it is called the grade, in the early years of the metric system. The grad is the English version, apparently introduced by engineers around 1900. The name gon is used for this unit in German, Swedish, and other northern European languages in which the word grad means degree. Although many calculators will display angle measurements in grads as well as degrees or radians, it is difficult to find actual applications of the grad today.
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