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
Helix angle the helix angle. The efficiency can be plotted versus the helix angle for a constant friction, as shown in the adjacent diagram. The maximum efficiency is a helix angle between 40 and 45 degrees, however a reasonable efficiency is achieved above 15°. Due to difficulties in forming the thread, helix angle greater than 30° are rarely used. Moreover, above 30° the friction angle becomes smaller than the helix angle and the nut is no longer self-locking and the mechanical advantage disappears. In helical and worm gears, the helix angle denotes the standard pitch circle unless otherwise specified. Application of the