Question

can anyone explain Radians to me?

Answer 1

Radian is another way of measuring angle instead of degree. For example, 2*pi Radian is equal to 360 degrees. Wiki is a great reference that explains this in very detail: http://goo.gl/0oqA9 .

Answer 2

Radian is a standard measure of angles in another form (other than the degrees). It is euqal to the length of an arc of a unit circle. It is represented in pie i.e., 1π radian = 180 degrees and 2π radians is equal to 360 degrees.
In order to convert a degree to radian you divide it by 180 and the resulting angle will be in pie radians.

Answer 3

Radians are used to show that you have made half a revolution, 180 degrees. For example when you have graphed an equation that is a function of sine when the y value returns to the original value at 0 you have completed 1 radian.

Answer 4

Actually a "Radian" is a ratio in relation to the radius of a circle. 1 radian is equal to the length of the radius traveled along the circumference of the circle (also known as a sector), remember that a circle's circumference is \[2(\pi)r\]. The unit circle's radius is 1 unit. Therefore 1 revolution, meaning if you were to walk around the entire circle, would be a distance of \[2(\pi)\ (1)\] Another way to look at it would be to ask the question, " how many times does the radius fit along the circumference of the circle?"

Degree and radians are two ways to describe the same thing, 1 degree is 1/360 of the circle. What makes this so great is that no mater what the radius is the ratio's stay the same and allow you to make more complicated calculations.

Answer 5

Since the other posters have done a good job already, I just want to add a tip that I read a while ago that helped me.

It's good to remember that radians have 'a different point of view' than degrees (even though they describe the same thing in the unit circle).

If you stood at the center of the unit circle and watched, say, an panicked penguin tied to a 1-meter rope run around the circle, 'angles' could be the measure of how far YOU had to turn your body or head to watch that penguin run.

From the pengiun-on-a-1-meter-rope's point of view, it might make more sense to ask HOW FAR it's run - and that would be in radians. 'The penguin stops after 'pi' radians, and I have turned 180°.'

Answer 6

Draw an arc of a circle so that initially the length of the arc along the arc say `s` is less than the the length of the radius say `r`. Join the arc ends to the center of the circle so that it make some angle. At this moment the arc forms certain angle say `theta=s/r` . Now increase the length of the arc along the arc upto the radius so that s=r and at this moment the angle made by this arc at the center is called one radian.

Answer 7

Radians is another way to express degrees.
Radians use units of pi which equal 180 degrees each
Raidans have uses in things conics, polar coordinates, and Trigonometric funtions.