About Gradians
Gradians, also known as gons or grads, divide a circle into 400 equal parts. This means that a right angle is equal to 100 gradians, a full circle is 400 gradians, and so on. Gradians were introduced as an alternative to degrees and radians, aiming to provide a more convenient and decimal-based system for measuring angles.
While gradians are not as commonly used as degrees or radians, they do have their applications. For example, they are often used in surveying and navigation, where angles need to be measured and calculated with high precision. Additionally, gradians can be easily converted to degrees or radians, making them a versatile unit of measurement.
While radians are the standard unit for measuring angles in mathematics and physics, gradians offer an alternative system that can be useful in specific fields. Whether it's for precise measurements in surveying or for converting between different angle units, gradians provide a decimal-based approach to quantifying angles.
About Milliradians
Milliradians, often abbreviated as mrad or mil, are a unit of measurement commonly used in fields such as military, engineering, and ballistics. Derived from the concept of a radian, which is a unit used to measure angles in a circle, a milliradian is equal to one-thousandth of a radian. This makes it a very precise unit for measuring small angles.
Milliradians are particularly useful in long-range shooting and artillery calculations. In these applications, milliradians are used to measure the angular size of a target or the angular deviation of a projectile's trajectory. By converting these angular measurements into milliradians, it becomes easier to make accurate adjustments and calculations for aiming and targeting.
One of the advantages of using milliradians is that they are a dimensionless unit, meaning they do not depend on the distance to the target. This makes milliradians a versatile and consistent unit of measurement, allowing for easy comparison and calculation across different ranges. Additionally, milliradians are often used in conjunction with metric units, making them compatible with the International System of Units (SI).
In summary, milliradians are a precise and widely used unit of measurement for small angles. Their applications range from military and ballistics to engineering and surveying. With their dimensionless nature and compatibility with metric units, milliradians provide a reliable and standardized method for measuring and calculating angles in various fields.
Note that there are several variants of Milliradians, namely NATO Mils, USSR Mils, US WW2 Mils and UK Mils. Information on these variants are available from the links on this page.