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Latin Symbols in Physics (items in bold are vectors) a acceleration (m/s2) A ampere (S.I. unit of current, fundamental) A amplitude (typically m) B magnetic field (T) B bulk modulus (N/m2) c specific heat capacity (J/(kg*K)) c speed of light (m/s) C molar heat capacity (J/(mol*K)) C coulomb (S.I. unit of charge = A*s) cal calorie (non-S.I. unit of energy = 4.186 J) Cal Calorie or kcal (non-S.I. unit of energy = 4186 J) d distance (m) dB decibels (non-S.I. unit of intensity) e magnitude of charge of an electron (C) e efficiency (dimensionless) eV electron-Volt (non-S.I. unit of energy = 1.60E-19 J) E energy (J) E electric field (N/C) f frequency (Hz. or s-1) f friction force (N) f focal length (m) F force (N) F farad, S.I. unit of capacitance = A2*s4/(kg*m2) g magnitude of free fall acceleration ≈ 9.80 m/s2 g gram (non-S.I. unit of mass = 0.001 kg) G universal gravitational constant h Plank’s constant (6.63E-34 J*s) h height (m) Hz hertz, S.I. unit of frequency = s-1 i, I current (A) I moment of inertia, kg*m2 I intensity, W/m2 j current density, A/m2 j impulse, kg*m/s J joule, S.I. unit of energy = kg*m2/s2 k Boltzmann’s constant, J/K k spring constant, N/m k thermal conductivity, W/(m*K) k wave number, rad/m kg kilogram, S.I. unit of mass, fundamental K kelvin, S.I. unit of temperature, fundamental K kinetic energy, J l length, m L liter, non-S.I. unit of volume L latent heat, J/kg L angular momentum (J*s) m mass, kg m meter (S.I. unit of distance) n index of refraction (dimensionless) n number of moles N number of particles N newton (S.I. unit of force = kg*m/s2) N normal force (N)

NA Avogadro’s number p momentum (kg*m/s) p, P pressure (Pa = N/m2 = kg/(m*s2) P power (W) q, Q charge (C) Q heat (J) r radius variable (m) R fixed radius (m) R ideal gas constant (8.31 J/(mol*K)) R resistance (Ω) s seconds (S.I. unit of time) s generic position, could be x, y, or z (m) S entropy (J/K) t time (s) T period (s) T temperature (K) T tension force (N) T tesla (S.I. unit of magnetic field) u atomic mass unit, non-S.I. unit of mass u energy density (J/m3) U potential energy (J) v, v velocity, speed (m/s) V volt (S.I. unit of potential) V potential (V) V voltage or potential difference (V), more correctly written as ΔV V volume (m3) w, W weight force (N) W watt (S.I. unit of power = kg*m2/s3) W work (J) x Cartesian coordinate (m) y Cartesian coordinate (m) Y Young’s modulus (N/m2) z Cartesian coordinate (m) Greek Symbols in Physics α alpha angular acceleration (rad/s2) α alpha temperature coefficient of linear expansion (K-1) β beta temperature coefficient of volume expansion (K-1) γ gamma ratio of heat capacities (dimensionless) γ gamma relativistic gamma factor (dimensionless) Γ gamma (capital) δ delta instantaneous change Δ delta (capital) finite change ε epsilon permittivity ζ zeta η eta efficiency (dimensionless) θ theta angle (rad) Θ theta (capital) ι iota κ kappa dielectric constant (dimensionless) λ lambda wavelength (m) Λ lambda (capital) μ mu coefficient of friction (dimensionless) ν nu ξ xi Ξ xi (capital) π pi circumference/diameter ratio (dimensionless) Π pi (capital) series product ρ rho density (kg/m3) ρ rho resistivity (Ω*m) σ sigma Stefan-Boltzmann constant Σ sigma (capital) series summation τ tau torque (N x m) τ tau time constant (s) υ upsilon φ phi angle (rad) Φ phi (capital) χ chi ψ psi psychic power (W) ψ psi wave function (dimensionless) Ψ psi (capital) wave function (dimensionless) ω omega angular velocity (rad/s) Ω omega (capital) ohms (S.I. unit of resistance = V/A) Common Subscripts av or ave average c cold f final h hot i initial max maximum min minimum 0 initial rms root mean square th thermal tot total

Other Stuff d equal by definition  or  _ subscript ^ superscript sqrt square root E *10^