Placing icons evenly around a circle, or computing a clock hand's angle, has classically been JS's job — `Math.sin`/`Math.cos`. CSS `calc()` only did arithmetic, so the moment an angle needed to become a coordinate, you reached for JS.
CSS trig functions let `sin()`, `cos()`, `tan()`, `asin()`, `acos()`, `atan()`, and `atan2()` live inside `calc()`. Pass an angle through a custom property — `transform: translate(calc(cos(var(--a)) * 50px), calc(sin(var(--a)) * 50px))` — and circular layouts or a rotating clock hand become pure CSS.
Check caniuse/MDN baseline for support. Without it, computing each element's `left`/`top` (or `transform`) with `Math.cos`/`Math.sin` in JS and writing it as an inline style is the fallback.
When to use
Arranging icons in a circle, or computing a clock/gauge needle angle in pure CSS.