Gradian to Sextant Converter

A gradian (grad), also called a gon, is a unit of angular measurement where a full rotation is divided into 400 gradians. One gradian equals 1/400 of a complete circle, making a right angle equal to 100 gradians.

The gradian was introduced during the French Revolution as part of the metric system around 1795. It was designed to decimalize angle measurement, making calculations easier by using base-10 arithmetic. The system was promoted alongside other metric reforms but never achieved widespread adoption outside of surveying.

Gradians are primarily used in surveying and some European engineering applications. They're particularly common in land surveying in France, Germany, and other parts of Europe. Some surveying instruments and software support gradian measurements, though degrees remain more common globally.

A sextant is a unit of angular measurement equal to 1/6 of a full rotation, or 60 degrees. It represents one of six equal sections when a circle is divided into six parts.

The sextant as an angular unit is related to the navigational instrument of the same name, developed in the 18th century. The division of circles into six parts (hexagonal division) has ancient roots in geometry, as 60 degrees represents the angle in an equilateral triangle.

Sextants as angular units are rarely used in modern applications, though the 60-degree angle remains important in crystallography, molecular geometry, and some engineering applications. The term is more commonly associated with the navigational instrument rather than the angular unit itself.