Greek Letters in Math and Science

Summary:

Different uses of Greek letters

Greek Letters in Math and Science

Ryan Schipfer 06 Apr 2009 02:49

I remember one thread discussing how symbols in one area of study do not neccessarily stand for the same thing in other areas. It's tough to keep track of all the different meanings of different symbols, constants, and functions denoted by Greek letters. For example we learned that in number theory $\mu$ stands for the Mobius function, but in Physics it is the coefficient of friction. I found a wiki page which summarizes the different uses of Greek letters in math and science, and thought it is interesting enough to share. Here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_letters_used_in_mathematics,_science,_and_engineering#.CE.9B.CE.BB_.28Lambda.29

Last edited on 06 Apr 2009 02:49 by Ryan Schipfer Show more

Re: Greek Letters in Math and Science

agrotz2 06 Apr 2009 02:56

Some of the ones we've spent a lot of time on in class include phi, mu, and nu. I thought it was insane how many different "definitions" they had, depending on the circumstance/branch.

* φ represents:
o the golden ratio 1.618… in mathematics, art, and architecture
o Euler's totient function in number theory
o a holomorphic map on an analytic space
o the argument of a complex number in mathematics
o the value of a plane angle in physics and mathematics
o the angle to the z axis in spherical coordinates
o the probability density function of the normal distribution in statistics

* ν represents:
o frequency in physics in hertz (Hz)
o Poisson's ratio
o a neutrino

*μ represents:

* the Möbius function in number theory
* the population mean or expected value in probability and statistics
* a measure in measure theory
* micro, an SI prefix denoting 10-6 (one millionth)
* the coefficient of friction in physics
* the service rate in queueing theory
* the dynamic viscosity in physics
* magnetic permeability in electromagnetics