Definition:Angular Measure/Minute

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Definition

The minute (of angle) is a measurement of plane angles.

\(\ds \) \(\) \(\ds 1\) minute
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds 60\) seconds
\(\ds \) \(=\) \(\ds \dfrac 1 {60}\) degree of angle (by definition)


Symbol

Symbol: ${}^\prime$

${}^\prime$ and ${}^{\prime \prime}$

The usual symbols in general use for minutes and seconds are ${}^{\prime}$ and ${}^{\prime \prime}$.

Thus, for example, an angle of $10$ degrees, $3$ minutes and $27$ seconds is presented as:

$10 \degrees \, 3^\prime \, 27^{\prime \prime}$


The $\LaTeX$ code for \(10 \degrees \, 3^\prime \, 27^{\prime \prime}\) is 10 \degrees \, 3^\prime \, 27^{\prime \prime}  or 10 \degrees \, 3' \, 27^' '.


Also known as

A minute of angle is also known as a minute of arc, or an arc minute.

This term has a definition which is subtly different from the concept of a minute of angle, and so its use in this context on $\mathsf{Pr} \infty \mathsf{fWiki}$ is discouraged.


Also see

  • Results about minutes of angle can be found here.


Historical Note

The division of the degrees into $60$ subdivisions originates from the Babylonians, who used a sexagesimal (base $60$) system for the purposes of mathematics and astronomy.


Linguistic Note

The word minute, in the context of the measurement both of time and of angle, derives from its initial definition as a minute part of an hour or of a degree of angle.

In this context the word minute (meaning: the aggregation of $60$ seconds) is pronounced min-it.

The word minute (as used in the phrase minute part) is pronounced my-nyoot and means small.

So the fact that the two words are spelt identically is not a coincidence.


Sources

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