Angle Converter — How to Convert Between Angle Units
Angle measurement units are used across mathematics, physics, engineering, navigation, astronomy, and programming. The most common are degrees and radians, but depending on the field, you may also encounter gradians, arcminutes, arcseconds, and milliradians. This angle converter lets you instantly convert any value between all 7 units.
Degrees to Radians — The Most Common Conversion
Converting degrees to radians and back is the most frequently needed angle conversion. In everyday life we use degrees (360° = full circle), but in mathematics and programming the standard is radians (2π = full circle). The formula is straightforward: radians = degrees × π / 180. For example, a right angle of 90° = π/2 ≈ 1.5708 radians.
Gradians — The Surveying System
Gradians (also called gons or grads) divide a full circle into 400 equal parts instead of 360. This makes a right angle exactly 100 gradians, which is convenient for decimal-based calculations in land surveying and topography. Gradians are primarily used in continental Europe for surveying work.
Arcminutes and Arcseconds — Precision Positioning
The DMS system (degrees-minutes-seconds) is widely used in navigation, cartography, and GPS coordinates. One degree equals 60 arcminutes and 3,600 arcseconds. At the Earth's surface, one arcsecond corresponds to approximately 31 meters, making it precise enough for most geographic applications.
Milliradians in Military and Optics
A milliradian (mrad) is one-thousandth of a radian. Its key property is the linear relationship at long distances: 1 mrad at 1,000 meters equals approximately 1 meter of displacement. This makes milliradians essential for rifle scopes, artillery aiming, and optical instrument calibration. A full circle contains approximately 6,283 milliradians.
Radians in Programming
Most programming languages — including JavaScript, Python, C++, Java, and Swift — use radians as the default unit for trigonometric functions. The functions Math.sin(), Math.cos(), and Math.tan() all expect their arguments in radians. To use degrees, first convert: radians = degrees * Math.PI / 180. Some languages offer helper functions like Python's math.radians() and math.degrees().