Greek Alphabet and Science

GREEK ALPHABET AND SCIENCE

Physics 2013TCS

Background Greek letters are not only fundamental to

our writing system and language, but also to our scientific and mathematic communities as they are often used to symbolize certain concepts.

As this will be extremely important to your year’s work, you should take excellent notes on everything important!

Αα Alpha

Angular Acceleration (physics) Thermal coefficient of expansion

(chemistry) Helium atom (chemistry and physics)

Ββ Beta

Beta particles or electrons (chemistry and physics)

Γγ Gamma

gamma radiation (physics and chemistry)

Surface energy in (materials science) the Lorentz factor in theory of relativity

(physics) The heat capacity ratio Cp/Cv in

thermodynamics (physics) The activity coefficient in

thermodynamics (physics) And many more….

Δδ Delta

Change (ALL science and math)

Εε Epsilon

Arbitrarily small positive quantity (math) Limit Ordinal in set theory (math) Ratio of extension (physics) Electromagnetic field of a circuit (physics) The brightest star in a constellation

(astronomy) And many more…

Ζζ Zeta

Damping ratio of a spring (physics) Effective nuclear charge (chemistry) Heat flux through a plane (materials

science) Lag angle through a blade (engineering) And many more…

Ηη Eta

Refractive index (physics) 7th Brightest star in a constellation

(astronomy) Elasticity (economics) DNA polymerase found in higher

eukaryotic cells(biology) And many more…

Θθ Theta Plane angle (math and physics) Population mutation rate (biology) Earth day (earth science) Brain signal frequency (neurobiology) And many more…

Ιι Iota

Used in APL and Go programming (Computer science)

Imaginary #s (math) Unit vector (math and statistics)

Κκ Kappa

Compressibility of a compound (Chemistry)

Opioid receptors (pharmacology) Torsional constant (physics) Diagnostic reliability (psychology) And more…

Λλ Lambda

Symbol for ‘Aphex Twin’ (Pop Music) Wavelength (Physics) Conductance of a electrolyte solution

(chem) Radioactive decay constant (physics) Charge density (physics) Type of particle (physics and chemistry) King Louis XIII ‘s monogram and the

symbol for the Spartan Army (History And many more…

Μμ Mu

Coefficient of friction (physics) Magnetic dipole moment (physics) Important opioid receptor (pharmacology) Symbol for muon particle (physics and

chem) Average population (statistics) Mu major cord (music) And many more…

Νν Nu

Stoichometric coefficient (chemistry) DNA polymerase in higher eukaryotes

(biology) Degree of freedom (statistics) Frequency (physics) And many more…

Ξξ Xi

Important part of protein in embryonic red blood cells (biology)

A universal set (set theory) And many more…

Οο Omicron

13th star in a constellation Planet in Futurama and Star Trek

Ππ Pi

Hopefully we know what this is… Ratio of circumference to diameter (math

and physics) A type of elementary particle: pi meson

(physics) Osmotic pressure (chemistry) Profit (economics) And more…

Ρρ Rho

Density (physics) Resistivity (physics) Charge density (physics) Discount rate (economics) Important RNA protein (biology) And many more

Σσς Sigma

Type of bond (chemistry) Type of receptor (biology) Boltzmann constant (physics) Surface tension (physics) Electrical conductivity (physics) And more…

Ττ Tau

Torque (physics) Tau lepton particle (physics) Specific tax amount (economics) Type of chicken (jk) Golden ratio (math) And more…

Υυ Upsilon

Type of particle (physics) A type of car One other nonsensical thing…

Φφ Phi

Electrical potential (physics) Work (physics) Angle of friction or second angle

mentioned (math and physics) An aromatic containing compound

(chemistry) And more…

Χχ Chi

Abbreviation for Christ 600 Frequently used in statistics

Ψψ Psi

Wave function (physics) Type of meson particle (physics) Freaky rare acid symbol and specific

angle in proteins (biochemistry) A type of sword (killing) And more…

Ωω Omega

The end (whew!) Ohm or resistance (physics) Angular velocity (physics) A type of baryon particle (physics) Density of the universe (astronomy) Oxygen-18 (chemistry) And more…

Other Characters San (M) Digamma (F) Stigma Qoppa Sampi Sho Heta Tsan

Hmmm… Perhaps a quiz next time…. Remember… I only focus on what’s

IMPORTANT, just like you should have in your notes!