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College Physics

D | Glossary of Key Symbols and Notation

College PhysicsD | Glossary of Key Symbols and Notation

Search for key terms or text.

In this glossary, key symbols and notation are briefly defined.

Symbol Definition
¯any symbol
average (indicated by a bar over a symbol—e.g., ˉv is average velocity)
°C
Celsius degree
°F
Fahrenheit degree
//
parallel
perpendicular
proportional to
±
plus or minus
0
zero as a subscript denotes an initial value
α
alpha rays
α
angular acceleration
α
temperature coefficient(s) of resistivity
β
beta rays
β
sound level
β
volume coefficient of expansion
β
electron emitted in nuclear beta decay
β+
positron decay
γ
gamma rays
γ
surface tension
γ=1/1v2/c2
a constant used in relativity
Δ
change in whatever quantity follows
δ
uncertainty in whatever quantity follows
ΔE
change in energy between the initial and final orbits of an electron in an atom
ΔE
uncertainty in energy
Δm
difference in mass between initial and final products
ΔN
number of decays that occur
Δp
change in momentum
Δp
uncertainty in momentum
ΔPEg
change in gravitational potential energy
Δθ
rotation angle
Δs
distance traveled along a circular path
Δt
uncertainty in time
Δt0
proper time as measured by an observer at rest relative to the process
ΔV
potential difference
Δx
uncertainty in position
ε0
permittivity of free space
η
viscosity
θ
angle between the force vector and the displacement vector
θ
angle between two lines
θ
contact angle
θ
direction of the resultant
θb
Brewster's angle
θc
critical angle
κ
dielectric constant
λ
decay constant of a nuclide
λ
wavelength
λn
wavelength in a medium
μ0
permeability of free space
μk
coefficient of kinetic friction
μs
coefficient of static friction
ve
electron neutrino
π+
positive pion
π
negative pion
π0
neutral pion
ρ
density
ρc
critical density, the density needed to just halt universal expansion
ρfl
fluid density
ˉρobj
average density of an object
ρ/ρw
specific gravity
τ
characteristic time constant for a resistance and inductance (RL) or resistance and capacitance (RC) circuit
τ
characteristic time for a resistor and capacitor (RC) circuit
τ
torque
Υ
upsilon meson
Φ
magnetic flux
ϕ
phase angle
Ω
ohm (unit)
ω
angular velocity
A
ampere (current unit)
A
area
A
cross-sectional area
A
total number of nucleons
a
acceleration
aB
Bohr radius
ac
centripetal acceleration
at
tangential acceleration
AC
alternating current
AM
amplitude modulation
atm
atmosphere
B
baryon number
B
blue quark color
ˉB
antiblue (yellow) antiquark color
b
quark flavor bottom or beauty
B
bulk modulus
B
magnetic field strength
Bint
electron’s intrinsic magnetic field
Borb
orbital magnetic field
BE
binding energy of a nucleus—it is the energy required to completely disassemble it into separate protons and neutrons
BE/A
binding energy per nucleon
Bq
becquerel—one decay per second
C
capacitance (amount of charge stored per volt)
C
coulomb (a fundamental SI unit of charge)
Cp
total capacitance in parallel
Cs
total capacitance in series
CG
center of gravity
CM
center of mass
c
quark flavor charm
c
specific heat
c
speed of light
Cal
kilocalorie
cal
calorie
COPhp
heat pump’s coefficient of performance
COPref
coefficient of performance for refrigerators and air conditioners
cosθ
cosine
cotθ
cotangent
cscθ
cosecant
D
diffusion constant
d
displacement
d
quark flavor down
dB
decibel
di
distance of an image from the center of a lens
do
distance of an object from the center of a lens
DC
direct current
E
electric field strength
ε
emf (voltage) or Hall electromotive force
emf
electromotive force
E
energy of a single photon
E
nuclear reaction energy
E
relativistic total energy
E
total energy
E0
ground state energy for hydrogen
E0
rest energy
EC
electron capture
Ecap
energy stored in a capacitor
Eff
efficiency—the useful work output divided by the energy input
EffC
Carnot efficiency
Ein
energy consumed (food digested in humans)
Eind
energy stored in an inductor
Eout
energy output
e
emissivity of an object
e+
antielectron or positron
eV
electron volt
F
farad (unit of capacitance, a coulomb per volt)
F
focal point of a lens
F
force
F
magnitude of a force
F
restoring force
FB
buoyant force
Fc
centripetal force
Fi
force input
Fnet
net force
Fo
force output
FM
frequency modulation
f
focal length
f
frequency
f0
resonant frequency of a resistance, inductance, and capacitance (RLC) series circuit
f0
threshold frequency for a particular material (photoelectric effect)
f1
fundamental
f2
first overtone
f3
second overtone
fB
beat frequency
fk
magnitude of kinetic friction
fs
magnitude of static friction
G
gravitational constant
G
green quark color
ˉG
antigreen (magenta) antiquark color
g
acceleration due to gravity
g
gluons (carrier particles for strong nuclear force)
h
change in vertical position
h
height above some reference point
h
maximum height of a projectile
h
Planck's constant
hf
photon energy
hi
height of the image
ho
height of the object
I
electric current
I
intensity
I
intensity of a transmitted wave
I
moment of inertia (also called rotational inertia)
I0
intensity of a polarized wave before passing through a filter
Iave
average intensity for a continuous sinusoidal electromagnetic wave
Irms
average current
J
joule
J/Ψ
Joules/psi meson
K
kelvin
k
Boltzmann constant
k
force constant of a spring
Kα
x rays created when an electron falls into an n=1 shell vacancy from the n=3 shell
Kβ
x rays created when an electron falls into an n=2 shell vacancy from the n=3 shell
kcal
kilocalorie
KE
translational kinetic energy
KE+PE
mechanical energy
KEe
kinetic energy of an ejected electron
KErel
relativistic kinetic energy
KErot
rotational kinetic energy
¯KE
thermal energy
kg
kilogram (a fundamental SI unit of mass)
L
angular momentum
L
liter
L
magnitude of angular momentum
L
self-inductance
angular momentum quantum number
Lα
x rays created when an electron falls into an n=2 shell
Le
electron total family number
Lμ
muon family total number
Lτ
tau family total number
Lf
heat of fusion
LfandLv
latent heat coefficients
Lorb
orbital angular momentum
Ls
heat of sublimation
Lv
heat of vaporization
Lz
z - component of the angular momentum
M
angular magnification
M
mutual inductance
m
indicates metastable state
m
magnification
m
mass
m
mass of an object as measured by a person at rest relative to the object
m
meter (a fundamental SI unit of length)
m
order of interference
m
overall magnification (product of the individual magnifications)
m(AX)
atomic mass of a nuclide
MA
mechanical advantage
me
magnification of the eyepiece
me
mass of the electron
m
angular momentum projection quantum number
mn
mass of a neutron
mo
magnification of the objective lens
mol
mole
mp
mass of a proton
ms
spin projection quantum number
N
magnitude of the normal force
N
newton
N
normal force
N
number of neutrons
n
index of refraction
n
number of free charges per unit volume
NA
Avogadro's number
Nr
Reynolds number
Nm
newton-meter (work-energy unit)
Nm
newtons times meters (SI unit of torque)
OE
other energy
P
power
P
power of a lens
P
pressure
p
momentum
p
momentum magnitude
p
relativistic momentum
ptot
total momentum
p'tot
total momentum some time later
Pabs
absolute pressure
Patm
atmospheric pressure
Patm
standard atmospheric pressure
PE
potential energy
PEel
elastic potential energy
PEelec
electric potential energy
PEs
potential energy of a spring
Pg
gauge pressure
Pin
power consumption or input
Pout
useful power output going into useful work or a desired, form of energy
Q
latent heat
Q
net heat transferred into a system
Q
flow rate—volume per unit time flowing past a point
+Q
positive charge
Q
negative charge
q
electron charge
qp
charge of a proton
q
test charge
QF
quality factor
R
activity, the rate of decay
R
radius of curvature of a spherical mirror
R
red quark color
ˉR
antired (cyan) quark color
R
resistance
R
resultant or total displacement
R
Rydberg constant
R
universal gas constant
r
distance from pivot point to the point where a force is applied
r
internal resistance
r
perpendicular lever arm
r
radius of a nucleus
r
radius of curvature
r
resistivity
r or rad
radiation dose unit
rem
roentgen equivalent man
rad
radian
RBE
relative biological effectiveness
RC
resistor and capacitor circuit
rms
root mean square
rn
radius of the nth H-atom orbit
Rp
total resistance of a parallel connection
Rs
total resistance of a series connection
Rs
Schwarzschild radius
S
entropy
S
intrinsic spin (intrinsic angular momentum)
S
magnitude of the intrinsic (internal) spin angular momentum
S
shear modulus
S
strangeness quantum number
s
quark flavor strange
s
second (fundamental SI unit of time)
s
spin quantum number
s
total displacement
secθ
secant
sinθ
sine
sz
z-component of spin angular momentum
T
period—time to complete one oscillation
T
temperature
Tc
critical temperature—temperature below which a material becomes a superconductor
T
tension
T
tesla (magnetic field strength B)
t
quark flavor top or truth
t
time
t1/2
half-life—the time in which half of the original nuclei decay
tanθ
tangent
U
internal energy
u
quark flavor up
u
unified atomic mass unit
u
velocity of an object relative to an observer
u'
velocity relative to another observer
V
electric potential
V
terminal voltage
V
volt (unit)
V
volume
v
relative velocity between two observers
v
speed of light in a material
v
velocity
ˉv
average fluid velocity
VBVA
change in potential
vd
drift velocity
Vp
transformer input voltage
Vrms
rms voltage
Vs
transformer output voltage
vtot
total velocity
vw
propagation speed of sound or other wave
vw
wave velocity
W
work
W
net work done by a system
W
watt
w
weight
wfl
weight of the fluid displaced by an object
Wc
total work done by all conservative forces
Wnc
total work done by all nonconservative forces
Wout
useful work output
X
amplitude
X
symbol for an element
ZAXN
notation for a particular nuclide
x
deformation or displacement from equilibrium
x
displacement of a spring from its undeformed position
x
horizontal axis
XC
capacitive reactance
XL
inductive reactance
xrms
root mean square diffusion distance
y
vertical axis
Y
elastic modulus or Young's modulus
Z
atomic number (number of protons in a nucleus)
Z
impedance
Table D1
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