Appendix V: The Greek Alphabet and Typical Uses

Greek letters are frequently used for technical variables. The following table shows the most common usages for the Greek letters.

Letter	Symbol	Typical Use
alpha	A
?	angle, coefficient of thermal expansion
beta	B
?	angle
gamma	?	mathematical function
?	angle, shear strain, surface energy
delta	?	difference
?, ?	difference between differential quantities
epsilon	E
?	strain
zeta	Z
?
eta	H
?	viscosity, efficiency
theta	?	temperature
?	angle
iota	I
?
kappa	K
?
lambda	?
?	wavelength
mu	M
?	coefficient of friction, 10 ^?6
nu	N
?	frequency, Poisson s ratio
xi	?
?
omicron	O
o
pi	?	multiplicative series
?	3.1415926
rho	P
?	density, radius of curvature
sigma	?	summation
?	stress, conductivity, standard deviation
tau	T
?	shear stress
upsilon	?
?
phi	?
	angle
chi	X
?
psi	?
?	angle
omega	?	ohm, the end
?	angular frequency

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