Mathematical Principle
Use of the Mil-dot system is possible because it is concerned with small angles, and at small angles:
This allows a user to dispense with trigonometry and use simple ratios to determine size and distance with acceptable accuracy for rifle and short distance artillery calculations.
Since a radian is mathematically defined as the angle formed when the length of a circular arc equals the radius of the circle, a trigonometric milliradian (mrad), is the angle formed when the length of a circular arc equals 1/1000 of the radius of the circle. Since the radian expresses a ratio, it is independent of the units of length used.
Read more about this topic: Angular Mil
Famous quotes containing the words mathematical and/or principle:
“What he loved so much in the plant morphological structure of the tree was that given a fixed mathematical basis, the final evolution was so incalculable.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)