Latin characters

Symbol Meaning SI Unit of Measure

area
A
magnetic vector potential
meter per second squared (m/s²) or
a acceleration
(ms−2)
magnetic flux density
tesla (T), or equivalently,
also called the magnetic field density or magnetic
weber per square meter (Wb/m²)
induction
capacitance
C heat capacity
constant of integration varied depending on context
speed of light (in a vacuum) Meters per Second (m/s)
c speed of sound Meters per Second (m/s)
specific heat capacity
electric displacement field
coulomb per square meter (C/m²)
also called the electric flux density
distance meter (m)
impact parameter meter (m)
d
diameter
differential (e.g. dx)
differential vector element of surface area A,
with infinitesimally
square meter (m²)
small magnitude and direction normal to surface S

differential element of volume V enclosed by

dV cubic meter (m³)
surface S
electric field volt per meter (V/m)
E energy joule (J)
eccentricity unitless
e 2.71828... (base of the natural
logarithm), electron, elementary charge
force newton (N)
frequency hertz (Hz)
f function
friction
newton meter squared per kilogram
G the gravitational constant
squared (N m²/kg²)
g acceleration due to gravity
magnetic field strength ampere per meter (A/m)
 also called just magnetic field
H Hamiltonian joule (J)
height
h
Planck's constant joule second (J s)
joule second (J s)
reduced Planck's constant
action joule second (J s)
intensity watt per square meter (W/m²)
I sound intensity watt per square meter (W/m²)
electric current ampere (A)
moment of inertia
Cartesian x-axis basis unit vector unitless
i intensity watt per square meter (W/m²)
imaginary unit
free current density,
not including polarization or magnetization currents ampere per square meter (A/m²)
bound in a material
j Cartesian y-axis basis unit vector unitless
K kinetic energy joule (J)
Cartesian z-axis basis unit vector unitless
Boltzmann constant joule per kelvin (J/K)
k
wavenumber
wavenumber
inductance henry (H)
L luminosity watt (W)
angular momentum
l length
magnetization ampere per meter (A/m)
M moment of force
newton meter (N m)
often simply called moment or torque
m mass kilogram (kg)
normal vector unit varies depending on context
N
atomic number unitless
refractive index unitless
n
principal quantum number unitless
P power watt (W)
momentum kilogram meter per second (kg m/s)
pressure pascal (Pa)
Electric Charge coulomb (C)
Q
Heat joule (J)
q electric charge coulomb (C)
 Electrical resistance ohm (Ω)
R Ricci tensor unitless
radiancy
radius of rotation or distance between two things
such as the masses in Newton's law of universal meter (m)
r gravitation
radius vector (position)
surface area m2
S entropy J/K
action
arc length meter (m)
s
displacement
period second (s)
T Thermodynamic Temperature
kelvin (K)
also called absolute temperature
t time second (s)
four-velocity meter per second (m/s)
potential energy joule (J)
U
internal energy joule (J)
relativistic mass kilogram (kg)
u joule per cubic meter (J/m³) or joule per
energy density
kilogram (J/kg) depending on the context
voltage
volt (V)
also called electric potential difference
V
volume m3
shear force
velocity meter per second (m/s)
W mechanical work
w width m
a generic unknown varied depending on context
x
displacement
Z Electrical impedance
[edit]Greek characters
Symbol Name Meaning SI Unit of Measure
radian per second squared
α alpha angular acceleration
(rad/s²)
β beta velocity in terms of the speed of light c unitless
Lorentz factor unitless
photon
γ gamma
gamma ray
shear strain
 a change in a variable (e.g. Δx) unitless
Δ delta
Laplace operator
δ delta displacement (usually small)
permittivity farad per meter (F/m)
ε epsilon
strain unitless
energy efficiency unitless
η eta coefficient of viscosity
pascal second (Pa s)
also called simply viscosity
θ theta angular displacement radian (rad)
torsion coefficient newton meter per radian (N
Κ kappa
also called torsion constant m/rad)
cosmological constant per second squared (s−2)
Λ lambda meter
λ wavelength
(m)
magnetic moment ampere square meter (A m²)
coefficient of friction
mu
dynamic viscosity
permeability (electromagnetism)
frequency hertz (Hz)
ν nu
kinematic viscosity
Ω omega ohm
ω omega angular frequency radian per second (rad/s)
mass density kilogram per cubic meter
usually simply called density (kg/m³)
free electric charge density,
ρ rho coulomb per cubic
not including dipole charges bound in a
meter (C/m³)
material
resistivity
Σ sigma summation operator
electrical conductivity
σ sigma
normal stress
torque newton meter (N m)
τ tau shear stress
time constant s
unit varies depending on
field strength
Φ phi context
magnetic flux
φ phi electric potential
π pi 3.14159... (irrational number)
wave
Ψ unitless
function
ζ zeta damping ratio unitless
[edit]Other characters
Symbol Name Meaning SI Unit of Measure
the divergence operator
nabla dot per meter (m−1)
often pronounced "del dot"
the curl operator
nabla cross per meter (m−1)
often pronounced "del cross"
nabla del (differential operator)
"der", "dow", "die", "partial" or simply partial
"d" derivative (e.g. )