Why is a full circle 360 degrees and not 100 degrees, for example?

When we talk about a circle, for many people, the question seems obvious: a full circle is 360 degrees.

But why exactly is it that way? Why not round up to a nice number – 100?

The answer lies in antiquity, when the Babylonians, some of the first mathematicians and astronomers, chose their favorite number system – based on the number 60.

This meant that their calculations were more natural within the framework of numbers divisible by 60 rather than 10. The number 360 is convenient in this system because it is divisible by many integers (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, etc.).

And now for the most interesting part: the Babylonians, while observing the heavenly bodies (period of about 3000-500 B.C.), noticed that the solar cycle is close to 360 days.

This observation prompted them to divide the circle into 360 degrees for ease of calculation.

For this one day, according to their calendar, roughly corresponds to 1°.

Also, the number 100 would not be suitable for this purpose – it is too limited in division, which would make the calculation of angles much more complicated.

Imagine: instead of the usual 90-degree or 45-degree angles, we’d have to operate with obscure fractions.

And thanks to 360 degrees, all geometric and astronomical calculations have become surprisingly accurate and convenient.

Different cultures from antiquity used different ways of dividing angles and circles, but eventually the Babylonian system with 360 degrees became the standard.