2007-08-02 14:06:56 · 14 answers · asked by pickles fm the republic 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Ranger, golfgirl, you're both wrong. There is a link between the two, and it is one of bad astronomy. When the ancient astronomers first began to practice their art, now recognised as a science, they monitored the movements of objects in the sky & changes in shadows cast on the ground by the Sun.
At the end of it all, they concluded there were 360 days in one year & so put 360 degrees into a circle. Just imagine if they'd got it right, and we had to say a right-angle was 91.31 degrees......
Actually, one day it will be right. The day is very slowly getting longer on account of tidal drag of the oceans caused by the Moon's gravity. At the height of the time of the dinosaurs, there were about 435 days in a year; there will be a 360-day year in a few million years' time.
2007-08-03 05:23:02 · answer #1 · answered by general_ego 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have been told 360 degres in a circle because you can divide it so nicely into so many fractions. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 1/5...
365 days in a year (almost) because it takes that long for the earth to orbit the sun.
the two are remarkably close. Maybe the original folks who made up the 360 number did try to make it close to the number of days in a year. but it would be a big pain to make a circle 365 degrees except leap year and it would be nonsensical to make the year 360 days...
2007-08-02 22:03:37 · answer #2 · answered by Cindy B 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
And why are we born with 350 bones?
Yeah, I feel your pain.
And why are there only 36 inches in a yard?
Boy, I really feel your pain.
Oh by the way, the length of a year depends on what calendar you use. According to the Muslim calendar which follows the lunar cycle, a year is 354 days long. And according to the lunisolar calendar a year is also less than 365 days long (but I'm not sure how many days -- I think it varies from year to year).
How old are you? And why are you wasting 5 points on such a pointless question?
Oh, sorry, my little sister just gave me an explanation. So, seriously now, the reason there are 365 days in a year is because when the earth orbits around the sun, it does not do it in a perfect circle. In fact, its orbit is in a slightly oval shape, and the total angle of that oval shape is -- you guessed it -- 365 degrees! Yay!!
2007-08-03 11:43:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
it's a good question because the two are actually related.
All measurement, be it height or length or depth, or volume, is related to the second of time, which is based on the movements of the planets, particularly the sun, the moon, the earth and venus.
The real problem of dividing a circle into 365/6 is that it is impractical, so it was rounded down to the nearest convenient number. See civilisation one or uriels machine, by christopher knight and alan butler, and christopher knight and robert lomas respctively, for a further understanding.
Very interesting.
2007-08-03 06:33:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of the geometry of circle, there are 360 degrees in a circle. 365 days in a year is not related to geometry. It because it takes little more than 365 days for an Earth to complete its revolution around sun. This complete revolution is called one year.
2007-08-02 21:15:28 · answer #5 · answered by Ketan P 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The division of a circle into 360 degrees is a man-made concept. Any number could have been chosen. You will need to email Pythagoras to ask him why he chose 360.
The year and the day are the only time events based on planetary movements. (ie the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun (365.25 actually) and the time it takes for the earth to complete one rotation on its axis).
All other measurements of time are man-made (hours, minutes, seconds - who knows why there need to be 24/60/60 - purely artificial and I expect if we were doing it today the EU bureaucrats would make it 100/100/100).
Months (Jan, Feb etc, not lunar months) are a similar human confection, mainly based on the number of days that each Roman deity or emperor should be revered.
2007-08-02 21:28:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because the earth's rotation, which defines a day, is slightly faster than the time it takes the earth to go once around the sun. If the day were just a little longer, there would be 360 days in a year. But it's because the earth's rate of rotation is just a little too fast to make 360 complete turns in the time it takes it to go once around the sun.
2007-08-02 21:12:06 · answer #7 · answered by nyphdinmd 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
look at dr math at
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/sets/select/dm_circle360.html
What I see is it is an easy number to work with.
While doing a search in google for "why 360 degree in a circle" I have seen many reasons why. You can choose which one you want. I have found too many site with an answer this question to list in the source section. Do a search and you will see.
2007-08-02 22:40:32 · answer #8 · answered by blue_eagle74 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why do fools fall in love?
Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?
The degrees in a circle are not related to the days in a year in any way. Each are independent...even as the above statements are independent to each other.
2007-08-03 00:19:13 · answer #9 · answered by curious 1 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
~I think it's because if water melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, a car traveling at 50 mph will need at least 486 feet to stop.
2007-08-02 21:15:55 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋