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===== Original Message From Forum for Physics Educators<PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu> =====
I would argue that beginning students should be made
to understand that an operational definition of a
radian is not truly dimensionless, but literally
(meters of arc)/(meters of radius). Mathematically
dimensionless, but not operationally. The
"dimensionless" shorthand can all too easily obscure
the physical meaning of a radian.
You make an excellent point. We want students to
understand the mathematical angle and the operational
angle. However, how do you make the radians disappear
when using v = r*(omega) when calculating linear
velocity from angular velocity and radius?
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