top of page
Search

Sciences & the Greek Alphabet

Have you ever come across a Greek letter in your math class? Maybe you saw it in your Physics class? Or was it the Astronomy class? The Greek alphabet is used in the scientific world all the time. This is mostly because the European mathematics and sciences were based on Greek discoveries.





Here is a list of all the Greek Letters and their applications to STEM. If I missed some applications, please leave a comment.

Alpha Αα

  • Angles

  • Coefficients

  • attenuation constant

  • absorption factor

  • Area

  • angular acceleration.

  • right ascension.

  • the first (typically brightest) star in a constellation.

  • denoting the first of a series of items or categories, e.g. forms of a chemical compound.

  • relating to alpha decay or alpha particles.

Beta Ββ

  • Angles

  • Coefficients

  • phase constant

  • the second (typically second-brightest) star in a constellation.

  • relating to beta decay or beta particles.

Gamma Γγ

  • Complex propagation constant (cap)

  • specific gravity

  • Angles

  • electrical conductivity

  • propagation constant

  • relating to gamma rays.

  • denoting the third in a series of items, categories, etc.

  • the third (typically brightest) star in a constellation.

Delta Δδ

  • Increment or decrement

  • determinant (cap)

  • permittivity (cap)

  • Density

  • Angles

  • the fourth in a series of items, categories, etc.

  • the fourth (usually fourth brightest) star in a constellation.

  • a change or set of changes made to a file or program, especially as part of an update to a later version.

  • Declination (Astronomy)

Epsilon Εε

  • Dielectric constant

  • Permittivity

  • electric intensity

  • denoting the fifth in a series of items, categories, etc.

  • the fifth star in a constellation.

Zeta Ζζ

  • Coordinates

  • Coefficients

  • the sixth star in a constellation.

Eta Ηη

  • Intrinsic impedance

  • Efficiency

  • surface charge density

  • Hysteresis

  • Coordinates

  • the seventh star in a constellation.

Theta Θθ

  • Angular phase displacement

  • Angles

  • time constant

  • Reluctance

  • the eighth star in a constellation.

  • denoting a temperature at which a polymer solution behaves ideally as regards its osmotic pressure.

  • denoting electrical activity observed in the brain under certain conditions, consisting of oscillations having a frequency of 4 to 7 hertz.

  • temperature (especially in degrees Celsius)

  • Polar coordinate

Iota Ιι

  • Unit vector

Kappa Κκ

  • Susceptibility

  • coupling coefficient

  • thermal conductivity

Lambda Λλ

  • Permeance (cap)

  • Wavelength

  • attenuation constant

  • the eleventh star in a constellation.

  • a type of bacteriophage virus used in genetic research

  • the point at the back of the skull where the parietal bones and the occipital bone meet

  • denoting one of the two types of light polypeptide chain present in all immunoglobulin molecules

  • celestial longitude.

Mu Μμ

  • Permeability

  • amplification factor (in valves/ vacuum tubes)

  • prefix for the micro multiplier

  • relating to muons

  • Micron

  • the twelfth star in a constellation

Nu Νν

  • Reluctivity

  • Frequency

  • the thirteenth star in a constellation

Xi Ξξ

  • Coordinates

  • the fourteenth star in a specified constellation

Omicron Οο

  • The fifteenth star in a constellation

Pi Ππ

  • Universally used for 3.1416 . . .

  • the sixteenth star in a constellation

  • relating to or denoting an electron or orbital with one unit of angular momentum about an internuclear axis

  • osmotic pressure

Rho Ρρ

  • Resistivity

  • volume charge density

  • Coordinates

  • the seventeenth star in a constellation

Sigma Σσ

  • Summation (cap)

  • surface charge density

  • complex propagation constant

  • electrical conductivity

  • leakage coefficient

  • Deviation

  • the eighteenth star in a constellation

  • relating to or denoting an electron or orbital with zero angular momentum around an internuclear axis

Tau Ττ

  • Time constant

  • volume resistivity

  • time-phase displacement

  • transmission factor

  • Density

  • an unstable subatomic particle of the lepton class, with a charge of −1 and a mass roughly 3,500 times that of the electron.

  • the nineteenth star in a constellation

Upsilon Υυ

  • the twentieth star in a constellation.

  • a meson thought to contain a b quark bound to its antiparticle, produced in particle accelerators.

Phi Φφ

  • Scalar potential (cap)

  • magnetic flux

  • Angles

  • the twenty-first star in a constellation

  • Polar coordinate

Chi Χχ

  • Electric susceptibility

  • Angles

  • the twenty-second star in a constellation

Psi Ψψ

  • Dielectric flux

  • the twenty-third star in a constellation

  • phase difference

  • Coordinates

  • Angles

Omega Ωω

  • Electrical resistance (cap)

  • solid angle

  • angular velocity

  • the twenty-fourth star in a constellation

  • the last of a series; the final development


Note: The small Greek letter in the alphabet is used except where the notation (cap) is used where the capital version of the Greek letter is used.


Sources:

"The Greek alphabet only has 24 letters compared to the Latin-based script that uses 26. However, the Greek alphabet has both capital and small versions, and virtually all of the letters are widely used for various measures." ~The Article

Visit the link above to read more about the Greek Alphabet. They mention its origins and connections to other languages.

The link above contains a very detailed list of the definitions of the letters. This list doesn't solely mention application to sciences.

Have you ever had to read a math problem with one of these strange symbols? Check out this video to learn how to pronounce each letter.

The pronunciation of each letter isn't always the same in England and in the US. This video compares both pronunciation.

Comments

bottom of page