Special Symbol List of Science & Maths

Physics Symbols and Notations

Symbol	Description
r, r	Position, separation, radius, radius of curvature
s, s	Displacement, distance
θ, φ	Angle, angular displacement, angular separation, rotation angle
x, y, z	Cartesian coordinates
î, ĵ, k̂	Cartesian unit vectors
r, θ, φ	Spherical coordinates
r̂, θ̂, φ̂	Spherical unit vectors
ρ, φ, z	Cylindrical coordinates
ρ̂, φ̂, ẑ	Cylindrical unit vectors
n̂	Normal unit vector
t̂	Tangential unit vector
h	Height, depth
ℓ, L	Length
d	Distance, separation, thickness
t	Thickness
D	Diameter
C	Circumference
A, A	Area, cross-sectional area, projected area, surface area
V	Volume
t	Time, duration
T	Period, periodic time
τ	Time constant
f	Frequency
ω	Angular frequency

Symbol	Description
v, v	Velocity, speed
a, a	Acceleration
ac, ac	Centripetal acceleration, centrifugal acceleration
g, g	Gravitational field, acceleration due to gravity
m	Mass
F, F	Force
Fg, W, W	Force of gravity, weight
Fn, N, N	Normal force, normal
Ff, fs, fk	Force of friction (static, kinetic)
μs, μk	Coefficient of friction (static, kinetic)
p, p	Momentum
J, J	Impulse
W	Work
E	Energy, total energy
K, Kt, Kr	Kinetic energy (translational, rotational)
U, Ug, Us	Potential energy (gravitational, spring)
Vg	Gravitational potential
η	Efficiency
P	Power
ω, ω	Rotational velocity, rotational speed
α, α	Rotational acceleration
τ, τ	Torque
I	Moment of inertia
L, L	Angular momentum
H, H	Angular impulse
k	Spring constant
P	Pressure
σ	Normal stress
τ	Shear stress
ρ	Density, volume mass density
σ	Area mass density, superficial mass density
λ	Linear mass density
FB, B, B	Buoyancy, buoyant force
qm	Mass flow rate
qV	Volume flow rate
FD, R, R	Drag, aerodynamic drag, air resistance
C, CD	Drag coefficient, coefficient of drag
η	Viscosity, dynamic viscosity
ν	Kinematic viscosity
Ma	Mach number
Re	Reynolds number
Fr	Froude number
E	Young's modulus, modulus of elasticity
G	Shear modulus, modulus of rigidity
K	Bulk modulus, modulus of compression
ε	Linear strain
γ	Shear strain
θ	Volume strain
γ	Surface tension

Symbol	Description
T	Temperature
α	Linear expansivity, coefficient of linear thermal expansion
β	Volume expansivity, coefficient of volume thermal expansion
Q	Heat
c	Specific heat, specific heat capacity
L	Latent heat, specific latent heat
n	Amount of substance
N	Number of particles
P	Heat flow rate
k	Thermal conductivity
ε	Emissivity
U	Internal energy
S	Entropy
w	Ways, number of identical microstates
COP	Coefficient of performance

Symbol	Description
λ	Wavelength
v, c	Wave speed
I	Intensity
L	Level
n	Index of refraction, absolute index of refraction
f	Focal length
M	Magnification

Symbol	Description
q, Q	Charge, electric charge
ρ	Charge density, volume charge density
σ	Area charge density, superficial charge density
λ	Linear charge density
FE	Electric force, electrostatic force
E	Electric field
ΦE	Electric flux
U, UE	Potential energy, electric potential energy
V, VE	Voltage, potential, electric potential
ℰ	Electromotive force, emf
C	Capacitance
κ	Dielectric constant
I	Current, electric current
R, r	Resistance, electrical resistance, internal resistance
ρ	Resistivity
G	Conductance
σ	Conductivity
FB	Magnetic force
B	Magnetic field
ΦB	Magnetic flux
N	Number of turns
n	Turns per unit length, turns density
η	Energy density
S	Poynting vector, intensity

Symbol	Description
γ	Lorentz factor, lorentz gamma
φ	Work function
ψ(r,t), ψ(r)φ(t)	Wave function
T½	Half-life
D	Dose, absorbed dose
H	Equivalent dose
E	Effective dose
wR	Radiation weighting factor
wT	Tissue weighting factor

Symbol	Description
+	Plus, add, sum, positive
−	Minus, subtract, difference, negative
±	Uncertainty, error, plus-minus
·	Multiply, dot, dot product, scalar product
×	Multiply, cross, cross product, vector product
÷, /	Divide
x²	Square
x³	Cube
√	Square root, root, radical
∛	Cube root
1/x, x⁻¹	Invert, reciprocal
=	Equal to, equality
≈	Approximately equal to
∝	Proportional to
≠	Not equal to, inequality
~	On the order of
<	Less than
>	Greater than
≤	Less than or equal to
≥	Greater than or equal to
≪	Much less than
≫	Much greater than
⇒	Logical implication
⇔	Logical equivalence
→	Approaches
…	And so on
∴	Therefore
f(x)	Function
sin	Sine
cos	Cosine
tan	Tangent
sinh	Hyperbolic sine
cosh	Hyperbolic cosine
tanh	Hyperbolic tangent
x̂	Unit vector, x hat
∥	Parallel
⟂	Perpendicular
x̅	Mean, average, antiparticle
x̃	Median, supersymetric particle
⟨⟩	Time average, ensemble average, bracket
p(x)	Probability distribution, probability density function
∆	Increment, change, delta
d	Differential, d
∂	Partial differential, d partial, del
ẋ	Time rate of change, first derivative with respect to time
ẍ	Second derivative with respect to time
x⃛	Third derivative with respect to time
∇	Gradient, grad, del, nabla
∇ ·	Divergence, del dot
∇ ×	Curl, del cross
∇²	Laplacian, del squared
∑	Summation, sigma
∫	Integral
∬	Double integral
∭	Triple integral
∮	Contour integral
∯	Surface integral
∰	Volume integral
∞	Infinity
ℵ₀	Transfinite number, aleph null

Letter	Name	Letter	Name
Α, α	Alpha	Ν, ν	Nu
Β, β, ϐ	Beta	Ξ, ξ	Xi
Γ, γ	Gamma	Ο, ο	Omicron
Δ, ∆, δ	Delta	Π, ∏, π, ϖ	Pi
Ε, ε, ϵ	Epsilon	Ρ, ρ, ϱ	Rho
Ζ, ζ	Zeta	Σ, ∑, σ, ς	Sigma
Η, η	Eta	Τ, τ	Tau
Θ, ϴ, θ, ϑ	Theta	Υ, υ	Upsilon
Ι, ι	Iota	Φ, φ, ϕ	Phi
Κ, κ, ϰ	Kappa	Χ, χ	Chi
Λ, λ	Lambda	Ψ, ψ	Psi
Μ, μ, µ	Mu	Ω, Ω, ω	Omega