About this tool
Converts angles between degrees, radians, gradians, arc minutes, arc seconds, and revolutions (full turns). Useful for graphics and game programming where radians are standard, trigonometry where degrees are natural, navigation where arc minutes and seconds appear in coordinates, and geodesy where gradians are used.
How to use
- Enter the value in one of the units.
- The other fields update automatically with the conversion.
- You can edit any field and the rest recalculate.
Frequently asked questions
- When are degrees used and when are radians used?
- Degrees are the natural system for humans (90° is a right angle). Radians are the natural system for maths and programming (a full turn = 2π radians). In code, trig functions like sine and cosine almost always expect radians.
- What are arc minutes and arc seconds?
- Subdivisions of the degree used in astronomy and navigation. 1 degree = 60 arc minutes. 1 arc minute = 60 arc seconds. Precise geographic coordinates typically appear in the format 38° 42' 17" (38 degrees, 42 minutes, 17 seconds).
- Does it accept negative values and values larger than a full turn?
- Yes. Negatives represent rotation in the opposite direction. Values above 360° (or 2π) represent multiple turns. The tool converts the literal value without normalising to the standard range.