Re: Origin of 360 degrees in a Circle?

From: W. D. Allen Sr. (ballensr_at_adelphia.net)
Date: 07/03/04 

Date: Sat, 3 Jul 2004 13:50:06 -0700

Also they may have found it useful that 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all factors
of 360, much as the ancient Egyptians used a rope with twelve equally spaced
knots to form right angles in fabricating structures, etc. .

WDA

end

"Jay Belanger" <belanger@truman.edu> wrote in message
news:87u0wpqbnm.fsf@truman.edu...
>
> ex120sqn@hotmail.com (Ian) writes:
>
> > As an ex-RAF Navigator, the circle with its 360 degrees was
> > fundamental to my daily life, in calculation of track, heading or
> > drift.
> >
> > Bearing in mind the subdivisions are based on the number "60":
> >
> > 60 seconds (") = 1 minute (')
> > 60 minutes (') = 1 Degree
> >
> > Why then are there not 60 Degrees in a circle?
>
> The 60s are from the Babylonians, who liked the number (aside from
> being large, it's a convenient base). The used a combination base 10
> and base 60 system.
> Not surprisingly, their calendar had 360 days in a year; 360 being a
> multiple of 60 and close to the actual number of days in a year.
> (They had the occasional leap month to help things work out better).
> A degree, then, would be the amount the Earth circles the Sun in a
> day (or from an Earth-centric point of view, the amount the Sun moves
> relative to the fixed background of stars).
>
> Jay

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