Central angle intersection points and of the legs of the angle with the circle form a diameter, then is a straight angle. (In radians, .) Let be the minor arc of the circle between points and , and let be the radius of the circle. If the central angle is subtended by , then If the central angle is not subtended by the minor arc , then is a reflex angle and If a tangent at and a tangent at intersect at the exterior point , then denoting the center as , the angles (convex) and are supplementary (sum to 180°). A
Patterns in nature stars, domes, parabolas, and longitudinal or seif ('sword') shapes. Barchans or crescent dunes are produced by wind acting on desert sand; the two horns of the crescent and the slip face point downwind. Sand blows over the upwind face, which stands at about 15 degrees from the horizontal, and falls onto the slip face, where it accumulates up to the angle of repose of the sand, which is about 35 degrees. When the slip face exceeds the angle of repose, the sand avalanches, which is a nonlinear behaviour: the addition of many small amounts of sand causes nothing much to