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Re: unit names



Probable Fun Fact 1
degree: I think we use this unit as a "step" along an
ascending (or descending) numerical scale; the word comes
through (old) French from the Latin "gradus" or step.

Probably Fun Fact 2
minutes and seconds: this comes from the Babylonian system
of counting; they used a sexagesimal system with a decimal
sub-stratum.(They had a symbol for 1, which they repeated
the appropriate number of times to get from 1 to 9, then
there was a different symbol for 10, which was repeated and
combined with the unit symbol to give numbers from 10 to 59,
then came the symbol for 60.) They were into astronomy and
hence developed quantities for measuring angle of stars in
the sky and time; naturally these quantities were measured
in groups of 60. The link between time and angle comes
pretty automatically with astronomy.

Brian McInnes
----------
From: Zach Wolff <zachary_wolff@YAHOO.COM>
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: unit names
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 10:00 AM


Why do we use the same word, degrees, for degrees of temperature
and
degrees of arc? Does anyone know the history behind this? What
about
minutes and seconds of arc compared with minutes and seconds of
time?
Is there any logical or historical link?

Thanks for any fun facts you uncover.

Zach


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