Α - alpha - capital First letter of the Greek alphabet,
therefore takes on the meaning of first, best, primary, number one, etc.
Used as an adjective as in alpha male or alpha version.
α - alpha -small 1. Mathematics. Direct proportionality.
2. Physics. Angular acceleration. Alpha particle and alpha decay.
Β - beta - capital Second letter of the Greek alphabet,
therefore takes on the meaning of being next to first, or almost there,
as in beta testing.
β - beta - small 1. Phonology. Symbol for
the voiced
bilabial fricative [IPA]. 2. Special
Relativity. Symbol for the speed of an object relative to the
speed of light. 3. Particle Physics. The beta particle and beta
decay.
Γ - gamma - capital 1. Electrical Engineering. Symbol
for the reflection coefficient. 2. Mathematics. The gamma
function, as related to factorials. 3. Probability & Statistics. The gamma
distribution.
γ - gamma - small 1. Physics. Symbol for photon.
Also symbol for adiabatic
index of a gas. 2. Astronomy. Gamma factor and gamma rays. 3. Mathematics. Symbol
for the Euler-Mascheroni
constant (sometimes shortened to Euler Constant).
Δ - delta - capital 1. Data Converters. Delta-Sigma
conversion (Δ-process. A favorite audio data converter technology
using a delta change as the heart of the process. 2. Geography. Name
for the triangular shape caused by sediment deposits at the mouth of a
river. 3. Physics. Delta particles in particle physics.
δ - delta - small 1. Calculus. Symbol used
to represent a very small change in a value, often called a delta change;
a finite increment in a variable. 2. Mathematics. Symbol for the Dirac
delta function (or just delta function) ; symbol for the Kronecker
delta. 3. Proofreading. Symbol for deletion.
Ε - epsilon - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "E."
ε - epsilon - small 1. Electrical Engineering. Symbol
for the permittivity
constant. 2. Mathematics. A very small quantity; in tensor
calculus, the Levi-Civita
symbol, also called the permutation symbol; set membership. 3. Computer
Science. Symbol for an empty string.
Ζ - zeta - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "Z."
ζ - zeta - small Mathematics. The Riemann
zeta function and other zeta
functions.
Η - eta - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "H."
η - eta - small 1. Thermodynamics. Symbol for
the efficiency of a Carnot
heat engine. 2. Physics. Symbol for refractive
index of an optical medium.
Θ - theta - capital Symbol for death since it is an
abbreviation for the Greek word thanatos, meaning the personification of
death.
θ - theta - small 1. Trigonometry. Symbol
for an unknown angle. 2. Geometry. Symbol for a plane angle.
3. Phonology. Symbol for voiceless
dental fricative [IPA].
Ι - iota - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "I."
ι - iota - small The smallest letter in the Greek
alphabet, hence the popular English usage to mean small, as in, "It doesn't
matter one iota."
Κ - kappa - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "K."
κ - kappa - small 1. Physics. Alternate symbol
for adiabatic
index of a gas. 2. Mathematics. The Kappa
Curve.
Λ - lambda - capital 1. Particle Physics. Symbol
for lambda
particles.
λ - lambda - small 1. Electromagnetic Waves. Symbol
for wavelength.
2. Mathematics. Symbol for eigen
values in linear algebra.
Μ - mu - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "M."
μ - mu - small 1. Symbol for micro- and micron. 2. Statistics. Symbol
for the mean. 3. Physics. Symbol for coefficient
of friction. 4. Electromagnetism. Symbol for permeability.
Ν - nu - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "N."
ν - nu - small 1. Physics. Symbol for the frequency of a wave. 2. Particle Physics. Symbol for any of the three
kinds of neutrinos.
Ξ - xi - capital 1. Particle Physics. Symbol
for cascade particles.
ξ - xi - small 1. Mathematics. Symbol for the Xi-Function.
Ο - omicron - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "O."
ο - omicron - small Ditto to above.
Π - pi - capital 1. Mathematics. Symbol for
product, as in multiplication.
π - pi - small 1. Symbol for the ratio of the circumference
of a circle to its diameter; a transcendental
number, equal to approximately 3.14159. Note that the ratio of the
circumference of an igloo to its diameter equals Eskimo Pi.
Ρ - rho - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "P."
ρ - rho - small 1. Physics. Symbol for resistivity and density.
Σ - sigma - capital 1. Mathematics. Symbol for summation. 2. Data Converters. Delta-Sigma
conversion (Δ-Σ) process. A favorite audio data converter technology
using delta change and summation.
σ - sigma - small 1. Statistics. Symbol
for the standard deviation.
Τ - tau - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "T."
τ - tau - small 1. Mechanics. Symbol
for torque. 2. Electronics. Symbol for the time-constant
in an RC
circuit.
Υ - upsilon - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "Y."
υ - upsilon - small Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "u."
Φ - phi - capital 1. Physics. Symbol for magnetic
flux.
φ - phi - small 1. Electronics. Symbol for phase or phase shift. 2. Mathematics. Symbol
for the number 1.618 ... the golden number. See Phi.
Χ - chi - capital Rarely seen since it is too close
to the English letter "X."
χ - chi - small 1. Physics. Symbol for electric
susceptibility. 2. Phonology. Symbol for the voiceless
uvular fricative [IPA].
Ψ - psi - capital Rarely seen since it is difficult
to distinguish between the capital and the small psi symbols.
ψ - psi - small 1. Quantum Mechanics. Symbol
for the wave
function. Symbol for psi-network used in consumer audio.
Ω - omega - capital 1. Electronics. Symbol
for ohm. 2. Last letter of the Greek alphabet
so takes on the meaning of being last.
ω - omega - small 1. Electronics. Symbol
for angular
velocity, i.e., frequency in radians/second = 2πf.
