# Vertical spacing of \circ used for degree within \frac [duplicate]

I noticed the different vertical spacing of \circ used for degree within \frac command.

MWE:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
$\frac{180^\circ}{180^\circ}$
\end{document}

Output:

Using {180}^\circ resolves the "issue", though.

1. Isn't \circ in MWE applied to a box containing only 0, which should be as equal as high as box containing 180?
2. Why does 180^\circ get rendered differently in numerator and denominator?
• I don't really know the details of the spacing rules in math mode, but I'd say your premise is wrong that only the height of the 0 determines the vertical position of the exponent. As a practical note I'd recommend always typesetting any numerical values (except small integers), especially those with units, using siunitx: \frac{\ang{180}}{\ang{180}} – schtandard Feb 2 at 14:51
• in the denominator cramped style is used. See eg. tex.stackexchange.com/a/337332/2388 – Ulrike Fischer Feb 2 at 14:51
• So, the behavior is "by design", and I should probably stick with the simpler code? Thanks! @UlrikeFischer Your comment is actually the answer since my question could be considered as duplicate. – ivankokan Feb 2 at 14:56