List of common physics notations

1 Latin characters
2 Greek characters
3 Other characters
4 See also

Latin characters

Symbol	Meaning	SI Unit of Measure
$A$	area
	magnetic vector potential
	Amplitude
$a$	acceleration	meter per second squared (m/s²) or (ms⁻²)
$\mathbf{B}$	magnetic flux density also called the magnetic field density or magnetic induction	tesla (T), or equivalently, weber per square meter (Wb/m²)
$C$	capacitance
	heat capacity
	constant of integration	varied depending on context
$c$	speed of light (in a vacuum)	Meters per Second (m/s)
	speed of sound	Meters per Second (m/s)
	specific heat capacity
	viscous damping coefficient	kilograms per second
$\mathbf{D}$	electric displacement field also called the electric flux density	coulomb per square meter (C/m²)
$d$	distance	meter (m)
	impact parameter	meter (m)
	diameter
	differential (e.g. $dx$ )
$d\mathbf{A}$	differential vector element of surface area A, with infinitesimally small magnitude and direction normal to surface S	square meter (m²)
$dV$	differential element of volume V enclosed by surface S	cubic meter (m³)
$\mathbf{E}$	electric field	volt per meter (V/m)
$E$	energy	joule (J)
$e$	eccentricity	unitless
$e$	2.71828... (base of the natural logarithm), electron, elementary charge
$\mathbf{F}$	force	newton (N)
$f$	frequency	hertz (Hz)
	function
	friction
$G$	the gravitational constant	newton meter squared per kilogram squared (N m²/kg²)
$g$	acceleration due to gravity
$\mathbf{H}$	magnetic field strength also called just magnetic field	ampere per meter (A/m)
$H$	Hamiltonian	joule (J)
$h$	height
$h$	Planck's constant	joule second (J s)
$\hbar$	reduced Planck's constant $\textstyle \left ( {\frac h {2\pi}}\right)$	joule second (J s)
$I$	action	joule second (J s)
	intensity	watt per square meter (W/m²)
	sound intensity	watt per square meter (W/m²)
	electric current	ampere (A)
	moment of inertia
$i$	Cartesian x-axis basis unit vector	unitless
	intensity	watt per square meter (W/m²)
	imaginary unit
$\mathbf{J}$	free current density, not including polarization or magnetization currents bound in a material	ampere per square meter (A/m²)
$j$	Cartesian y-axis basis unit vector	unitless
$K$	kinetic energy	joule (J)
$k$	Cartesian z-axis basis unit vector	unitless
	Boltzmann constant	joule per kelvin (J/K)
	wavenumber
$L$	inductance	henry (H)
	luminosity	watt (W)
	angular momentum	newton metre seconds (N·m·s or kg·m2s−1)
$l$	length
$M$	magnetization	ampere per meter (A/m)
$M$	moment of force often simply called moment or torque	newton meter (N m)
$m$	mass	kilogram (kg)
$N$	normal vector	unit varies depending on context
$N$	atomic number	unitless
$n$	refractive index	unitless
$n$	principal quantum number	unitless
$P$	power	watt (W)
$\mathbf{p}$	momentum	kilogram meter per second (kg m/s)
$\mathbf{p}$	pressure	pascal (Pa)
$Q$	Electric Charge	coulomb (C)
$Q$	Heat	joule (J)
$q$	electric charge	coulomb (C)
$R$	Electrical resistance	ohm (Ω)
	Ricci tensor	unitless
	radiancy
$r$	radius of rotation or distance between two things such as the masses in Newton's law of universal gravitation	meter (m)
$r$	radius vector (position)
$S$	surface area	m²
	entropy	J/K
	action
$s$	arc length	meter (m)
$s$	displacement
$T$	period	second (s)
$T$	Thermodynamic Temperature also called absolute temperature	kelvin (K)
$t$	time	second (s)
$\mathbf{U}$	four-velocity	meter per second (m/s)
$U$	potential energy	joule (J)
$U$	internal energy	joule (J)
$u$	relativistic mass	kilogram (kg)
$u$	energy density	joule per cubic meter (J/m³) or joule per kilogram (J/kg) depending on the context
$V$	voltage also called electric potential difference	volt (V)
	volume	m³
	shear force
$\mathbf{v}$	velocity	meter per second (m/s)
$W$	mechanical work
$w$	width	m
$x$	a generic unknown	varied depending on context
$x$	displacement
$Z$	Electrical impedance

Greek characters

Symbol	Name	Meaning	SI Unit of Measure
$\alpha$	alpha	angular acceleration	radian per second squared (rad/s²)
$\beta$	beta	velocity in terms of the speed of light c	unitless
$\gamma$	gamma	Lorentz factor	unitless
		photon
		gamma ray
		shear strain
$\Delta$	delta	a change in a variable (e.g. $\Delta x$ )	unitless
$\Delta$	delta	Laplace operator
$\delta$	delta	displacement (usually small)
$\epsilon$	epsilon	permittivity	farad per meter (F/m)
$\epsilon$	epsilon	strain	unitless
$\eta$	eta	energy efficiency	unitless
$\eta$	eta	coefficient of viscosity also called simply viscosity	pascal second (Pa s)
$\theta$	theta	angular displacement	radian (rad)
$\Kappa$	kappa	torsion coefficient also called torsion constant	newton meter per radian (N m/rad)
$\Lambda$	lambda	cosmological constant	per second squared (s⁻²)
$\Lambda$	lambda	wavelength	meter (m)
$\mathbf{\mu}$	mu	magnetic moment	ampere square meter (A m²)
		coefficient of friction
		dynamic viscosity
		permeability (electromagnetism)
$\nu$	nu	frequency	hertz (Hz)
$\nu$	nu	kinematic viscosity
$\Omega$	omega	ohm
$\omega$	omega	angular frequency	radian per second (rad/s)
$\rho$	rho	mass density usually simply called density	kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m³)
		free electric charge density, not including dipole charges bound in a material	coulomb per cubic meter (C/m³)
		resistivity
$\Sigma$	sigma	summation operator
$\sigma$	sigma	electrical conductivity
$\sigma$	sigma	normal stress
$\tau$	tau	torque	newton meter (N m)
		shear stress
		time constant	s
$\Phi$	phi	field strength	unit varies depending on context
$\Phi$	phi	magnetic flux
$\phi$	phi	electric potential
$\pi$	pi	3.14159... (irrational number)
$\Psi$	psi	wave function	unitless
$\zeta$	zeta	damping ratio	unitless

Other characters

Symbol	Name	Meaning	SI Unit of Measure
$\nabla\cdot$	nabla dot	the divergence operator often pronounced "del dot"	per meter (m⁻¹)
$\nabla\times$	nabla cross	the curl operator often pronounced "del cross"	per meter (m⁻¹)
$\nabla$	nabla	del (differential operator)
$\part$	"der", "dow", "die", "partial" or simply "d"	partial derivative (e.g. $\part y/\part x$ )

List of common physics notations

Contents

Latin characters

Greek characters

Other characters

See also