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Latin Symbols in Physics (items in bold are vectors)
a
A
A
B
B
c
c
C
C
cal
Cal
d
dB
e
e
eV
E
E
f
f
f
F
F
g
g
G
h
h
Hz
i, I
I
I
j
j
J
k
k
k
k
kg
K
K
acceleration (m/s2)
ampere (S.I. unit of current, fundamental)
amplitude (typically m)
magnetic field (T)
bulk modulus (N/m2)
specific heat capacity (J/(kg*K))
speed of light (m/s)
molar heat capacity (J/(mol*K))
coulomb (S.I. unit of charge = A*s)
calorie (non-S.I. unit of energy = 4.186 J)
Calorie or kcal (non-S.I. unit of energy = 4186 J)
distance (m)
decibels (non-S.I. unit of intensity)
magnitude of charge of an electron (C)
efficiency (dimensionless)
electron-Volt (non-S.I. unit of energy = 1.60E-19 J)
energy (J)
electric field (N/C)
frequency (Hz. or s-1)
friction force (N)
focal length (m)
force (N)
farad, S.I. unit of capacitance = A2*s4/(kg*m2)
magnitude of free fall acceleration ≈ 9.80 m/s2
gram (non-S.I. unit of mass = 0.001 kg)
universal gravitational constant
Plank’s constant (6.63E-34 J*s)
height (m)
hertz, S.I. unit of frequency = s-1
current (A)
moment of inertia, kg*m2
intensity, W/m2
current density, A/m2
impulse, kg*m/s
joule, S.I. unit of energy = kg*m2/s2
Boltzmann’s constant, J/K
spring constant, N/m
thermal conductivity, W/(m*K)
wave number, rad/m
kilogram, S.I. unit of mass, fundamental
kelvin, S.I. unit of temperature, fundamental
kinetic energy, J
l
L
L
L
m
m
n
n
N
N
N
NA
p
p, P
P
q, Q
Q
r
R
R
R
s
s
S
t
T
T
T
T
u
u
U
v, v
V
V
V
V
w, W
W
W
x
y
Y
z
length, m
liter, non-S.I. unit of volume
latent heat, J/kg
angular momentum (J*s)
mass, kg
meter (S.I. unit of distance)
index of refraction (dimensionless)
number of moles
number of particles
newton (S.I. unit of force = kg*m/s2)
normal force (N)
Avogadro’s number
momentum (kg*m/s)
pressure (Pa = N/m2 = kg/(m*s2)
power (W)
charge (C)
heat (J)
radius variable (m)
fixed radius (m)
ideal gas constant (8.31 J/(mol*K))
resistance (Ω)
seconds (S.I. unit of time)
generic position, could be x, y, or z (m)
entropy (J/K)
time (s)
period (s)
temperature (K)
tension force (N)
tesla (S.I. unit of magnetic field)
atomic mass unit, non-S.I. unit of mass
energy density (J/m3)
potential energy (J)
velocity, speed (m/s)
volt (S.I. unit of potential)
potential (V)
voltage or potential difference (V), more correctly written as ΔV
volume (m3)
weight force (N)
watt (S.I. unit of power = kg*m2/s3)
work (J)
Cartesian coordinate (m)
Cartesian coordinate (m)
Young’s modulus (N/m2)
Cartesian coordinate (m)
Greek Symbols in Physics
α
α
alpha
alpha
β
beta
γ
γ
gamma
gamma
Γ
δ
Δ
ε
ζ
η
θ
Θ
ι
κ
λ
Λ
μ
ν
ξ
Ξ
π
gamma (capital)
delta
delta (capital)
epsilon
zeta
eta
theta
theta (capital)
iota
kappa
lambda
lambda (capital)
mu
nu
xi
xi (capital)
pi
Π
ρ
ρ
σ
Σ
τ
τ
υ
φ
Φ
χ
ψ
ψ
Ψ
ω
Ω
pi (capital)
rho
rho
sigma
sigma (capital)
tau
tau
upsilon
phi
phi (capital)
chi
psi
psi
psi (capital)
omega
omega (capital)
angular acceleration (rad/s2)
temperature coefficient of linear
expansion (K-1)
temperature coefficient of volume
expansion (K-1)
ratio of heat capacities (dimensionless)
relativistic gamma factor
(dimensionless)
instantaneous change
finite change
permittivity
efficiency (dimensionless)
angle (rad)
dielectric constant (dimensionless)
wavelength (m)
coefficient of friction (dimensionless)
circumference/diameter ratio
(dimensionless)
series product
density (kg/m3)
resistivity (Ω*m)
Stefan-Boltzmann constant
series summation
torque (N x m)
time constant (s)
angle (rad)
psychic power (W)
wave function (dimensionless)
wave function (dimensionless)
angular velocity (rad/s)
ohms (S.I. unit of resistance = V/A)
Common Subscripts
av or ave
c
f
h
i
max
min
0
rms
th
tot
average
cold
final
hot
initial
maximum
minimum
initial
root mean square
thermal
total
Other Stuff
d
 or 
_
^
sqrt
E
equal by definition
subscript
superscript
square root
*10^