How to convert radians to degrees (or the opposite) in python ?

Examples of how to convert radians to degrees and vice versa in python:

Convert radians to degrees using the math module

A first solution is to use the python module math, example:

>>> import math
>>> math.radians(90)
1.5707963267948966
>>> math.pi / 2.0
1.5707963267948966
>>> math.radians(180)
3.141592653589793

Conversion radian -> degrees:

>>> math.degrees(math.pi/2.0)
90.0
>>> math.degrees(math.pi)
180.0

Convert radians to degrees using numpy

Another solution is to use the numpy functions radians and degrees. The advantage of those functions is that a list or a matrix can be passed as an argument.

An example using a number:

>>> import numpy as np
>>> np.radians(90)
1.5707963267948966
>>> np.pi / 2.0
1.5707963267948966
>>> np.radians(180)
3.1415926535897931

Converting radians to degrees:

>>> x = np.pi / 2.0
>>> x
1.5707963267948966
>>> np.degrees(x)
90.0
>>> np.degrees(np.pi)
180.0

An example using a list:

>>> l = [0,45,90,180,360]
>>> np.radians(l)
array([ 0.        ,  0.78539816,  1.57079633,  3.14159265,  6.28318531])
>>> l = [ 0.        ,  0.78539816,  1.57079633,  3.14159265,  6.28318531]
>>> np.degrees(l)
array([   0.        ,   44.99999981,   90.00000018,  179.99999979, 360.00000016])

An example using an array:

>>> A = np.array(([0,45,90,180,360]))
>>> A
array([  0,  45,  90, 180, 360])
>>> A.shape
(5,)
>>> B = np.radians(A)
>>> B
array([ 0.        ,  0.78539816,  1.57079633,  3.14159265,  6.28318531])
>>> C = np.degrees(B)
>>> C
array([   0.,   45.,   90.,  180.,  360.])

References

• math module | Python doc
• Python: converting radians to degrees | stackoverflow
• numpy.radians() and deg2rad() in Python | geeksforgeeks.org
• numpy.radians | docs.scipy.org
• numpy.deg2rad | docs.scipy.org
• numpy.degrees | docs.scipy.org