Welcome to Principles of Metrology for

Quality Management

MACH8006
Angle Measurement
All length and angle
standards are arbitrary
human inventions One
standard, however, is not
an arbitrary creation of
man: it actually exists in
nature—the circle. Its
geometry is always the
same. The parts of the
circle always have the
same relationships to each
other; therefore, the circle
is a universal standard that
we can re-create anywhere
at any time to measure
angles
Angular measurement is inescapable in all technical endeavors, and is used in every phase of life,
from botany and carpentry to billiards and marbles. Squares, in all their diverse forms, are the most
basic of the angle-measurement instruments
Historical evidence reveals that
concepts of trigonometry date back
to the ancient Greek and Egyptian
engineers who used trigonometry to
measure objects they could not
measure directly. Today,
trigonometry, which has evolved
like any other branch of
mathematics, is an invaluable tool
in every phase of technology.
A circle is a curve consisting of points
in a plane, all equally distant from a
center point. It is different from all
other curves because it is the same
at all points. If we turn a circle around
its center in the same plane, the
circle appears exactly the same as it
did before we turned it: all new
positions are exactly like the original
position, which is a characteristic of
circles called roundness.
The death of a particular culture
also meant the death of its
measurement system. The only
conclusion we can accurately
draw is that each culture creates
its own system of measurements
—except for angular
measurement. The circle has been
used as a standard probably as
far back as biblical Babylon, and
its use as a standard for angle
measurement has been passed on
to us in an unbroken line from the
past.
• The Babylonians used the sexagesimal system
of notation for weights, time, and currency,
which used a fraction with 60 as the
denominator. Our “decimal system” would more
accurately be called the “decimal-fraction”
system, because you can write any number as
a multiplier of ten (decimo) and/or a fraction.
For convenience, we use a decimal point
instead of a fraction with a denominator. There
is a better way to refer to these numerical
systems: the decimal system is the base-ten
system; the binary system for computers is the
base-two system; and the sexagesimal system
is the base-sixty system.
• Greek astronomers may have
borrowed the base-sixty scale from
the Babylonians, and then added
their own twist, choosing 120 units to
represent the diameter of a circle. At
this time, π (pi) was defined as the
whole number 3; therefore, the
circumference of a circle was equal to
three times the diameter and the
circle was a set of 360 units. The
Latin root of “minute” is minutus,
which means “small.” Both time
measurement and angular
measurement derive a minor division
from this root word. In the circle, each
major division was divided by 60,
becoming the first, second, third, and
so forth “minute part” or “small part.”
With regular use, these divisions
became simply minutes and seconds.
• More recently, anthropologists have suggested that we have confused cause and
effect: the Babylonians divided the circle into 360 parts in error, believing that each
of the 360 sections was the distance the sun moved in one day. By the time the 5-
day error was discovered—hundreds of years later—astrologers had based
countless formulae in the easy-to-compute sexagesimal system, and it would have
been too difficult to reexpress all those formulae based on 365. The circle remained
based on 360 divisions; therefore, some anthropologists believe we use the
sexagesimal system for the circle by chance, not by any systematic effort.
1 Degree of Latitude = @111KM at the
equator

The 360 divisions of the circle were

preserved through the Middle Ages by
astronomers and have reached us
intact. The notation is familiar: degrees
(°), minutes (‘), and seconds (‘‘)
Measuring Angles (Degrees, Minutes, Seconds) 1
2:42
How to Use and Read a Universal Vernier Bevel
Protractor

Alternative link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJFUI

_FHlio
15°
+
15°
15° 14’
+
15° 16’
15° 14’
+
15° 56’
15° 14’ 25”
+
15° 16’ 20”
15° 14’ 25”
+
15° 56’ 20”
15° 14’ 25”
+
15° 16’ 47”
15° 14’ 25”
+
15° 56’ 47”
15° 30’ = 15.30 °
To minimize ambiguity, we use the terms supplementary and
complementary angles. Two angles—one acute, which, unless specified, is
always the “angle”; and one obtuse, which, unless specified, is always the
supplement—that total 180° are supplementary angles.
Similarly, two angles that total 90° are complementary
angles
Perpendicularity is the measurement of an angle—a right or 90° angle.
Remember, to have reliable measurement, you must have a standard, and
the measurement must be provable.
Squares are hardened-steel right angles and are available in a wide range of sizes and used as
measurement instruments used primarily to determine whether or not angles are right angles
How do we calibrate a
square? Usually, we
compare it with a cylindrical
square, which is a heavy-
wall, steel cylinder,
precisely ground and
lapped so that it is nearly a
true cylinder.
The trigonometric functions, formed by
the sides of triangles, are among the
most useful tools in practical angle
measurement. Because the sides of a
triangle are always straight lines, we
can measure them with linear
measuring instruments. Once we
know two sides, we can easily express
the fraction formed by them in decimal
form.
The trigonometric functions, formed by
the sides of triangles, are among the
most useful tools in practical angle
measurement. Because the sides of a
triangle are always straight lines, we
can measure them with linear
measuring instruments. Once we
know two sides, we can easily express
the fraction formed by them in decimal
form.
Start Lab 4