Why do radians even exist? Why would you use them instead of degrees?

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Why do radians even exist? Why would you use them instead of degrees?

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25 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The mathematical series that can be used to calculate trigonometric functions work directly with radians. It’s slower to calculate these functions in degrees because you need to convert to radians first, requiring an extra multiplication.

Also, for small angles, θ≈sin(θ)≈tan(θ), but, of course, only if you work in radians. Radians is the natural way, with 2π units per revolution, as compared to 360 units which, while conveniently divisible by many numbers, is still just arbitrary.

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