James Wentworth wrote in USMA 26367:
Grads are also useful, especially for
expressing the inclinations of roads in mountainous and hilly areas. Even
US road signs use grads (Ex. "7% Grade" in black characters on a yellow
background, with a black pictogram of a truck driving down a steep
lope). -- Jason
I think Jason is confusing the American civil engineering term of
grade meaning gradient, or sine of the angle of elevation of a road,
With the angle measure of grade, grad or gon (1/100 of a right
angle). A gradient of 7% means that the road an inclination whose
sine is 0.07 radians = 0.07 x 200 / � grades, grads or gons =
4.456...grades, grads or gons.
Curious to find which term for 1/100 of the right angle is used in
various languages I searched my English, French, Spanish, German,
Italian, Russian, Greek and Dutch dictionaries without success. It
seems that the ordinary person doesn't do angles.
--
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8 Telephone 416-486-6071
