Vernier protractors are weird

**elanjacobs** · 10th June 2018, 05:22 PM

Can anyone explain to me why vernier protractors are graduated in 5 arcmins instead of 0.1 degrees?

I know it's technically more accurate, being 1/12 of a degree instead of 1/10, but it's really impractical when all the digital stuff is decimal.

Is it just a legacy thing that stuck around?

**ian** · 10th June 2018, 05:31 PM

the standard for determing angles is degrees, minutes and seconds. To a first approximation, 1 arc minute corresponds to 1 nautical mile at the equator.
Very handy if you are navigating a plane or a boat.

digital degrees have only really been in common use (sort of) since the arrival of Google maps.
and a bit earlier in respect to CAD drawings.

'nuff said?

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