[latexpage]
In this glossary, key symbols and notation are briefly defined.
Symbol | Definition |
---|---|
\(\overline{\text{any symbol}}\) | average (indicated by a bar over a symbol—e.g., \(\overline{v}\) is average velocity) |
\(°\text{C}\) | Celsius degree |
\(°\text{F}\) | Fahrenheit degree |
\(\text{//}\) | parallel |
\(\perp \) | perpendicular |
\(\propto \) | proportional to |
\(±\) | plus or minus |
\({\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}}_{0}\) | zero as a subscript denotes an initial value |
\(\alpha \) | alpha rays |
\(\alpha \) | angular acceleration |
\(\alpha \) | temperature coefficient(s) of resistivity |
\(\beta \) | beta rays |
\(\beta \) | sound level |
\(\beta \) | volume coefficient of expansion |
\({\beta }^{-}\) | electron emitted in nuclear beta decay |
\({\beta }^{+}\) | positron decay |
\(\gamma \) | gamma rays |
\(\gamma \) | surface tension |
\(\gamma =1/\sqrt{1-{v}^{2}/{c}^{2}}\) | a constant used in relativity |
\(\Delta \) | change in whatever quantity follows |
\(\delta \) | uncertainty in whatever quantity follows |
\(\mathrm{\Delta E}\) | change in energy between the initial and final orbits of an electron in an atom |
\(\mathrm{\Delta E}\) | uncertainty in energy |
\(\mathrm{\Delta m}\) | difference in mass between initial and final products |
\(\mathrm{\Delta N}\) | number of decays that occur |
\(\mathrm{\Delta p}\) | change in momentum |
\(\mathrm{\Delta p}\) | uncertainty in momentum |
\(\Delta {\text{PE}}_{\text{g}}\) | change in gravitational potential energy |
\(\mathrm{\Delta \theta }\) | rotation angle |
\(\mathrm{\Delta s}\) | distance traveled along a circular path |
\(\mathrm{\Delta t}\) | uncertainty in time |
\({\mathrm{\Delta t}}_{0}\) | proper time as measured by an observer at rest relative to the process |
\(\mathrm{\Delta V}\) | potential difference |
\(\mathrm{\Delta x}\) | uncertainty in position |
\({\epsilon }_{0}\) | permittivity of free space |
\(\eta \) | viscosity |
\(\theta \) | angle between the force vector and the displacement vector |
\(\theta \) | angle between two lines |
\(\theta \) | contact angle |
\(\theta \) | direction of the resultant |
\({\theta }_{b}\) | Brewster’s angle |
\({\theta }_{c}\) | critical angle |
\(\kappa \) | dielectric constant |
\(\lambda \) | decay constant of a nuclide |
\(\lambda \) | wavelength |
\({\lambda }_{n}\) | wavelength in a medium |
\({\mu }_{0}\) | permeability of free space |
\({\mu }_{\text{k}}\) | coefficient of kinetic friction |
\({\mu }_{\text{s}}\) | coefficient of static friction |
\({v}_{e}\) | electron neutrino |
\({\pi }^{+}\) | positive pion |
\({\pi }^{-}\) | negative pion |
\({\pi }^{0}\) | neutral pion |
\(\rho \) | density |
\({\rho }_{\text{c}}\) | critical density, the density needed to just halt universal expansion |
\({\rho }_{\text{fl}}\) | fluid density |
\({\overline{\rho }}_{\text{obj}}\) | average density of an object |
\(\rho /{\rho }_{\text{w}}\) | specific gravity |
\(\tau \) | characteristic time constant for a resistance and inductance \(\left(\text{RL}\right)\) or resistance and capacitance \(\left(\text{RC}\right)\) circuit |
\(\tau \) | characteristic time for a resistor and capacitor \(\left(\text{RC}\right)\) circuit |
\(\tau \) | torque |
\(Υ\) | upsilon meson |
\(\Phi \) | magnetic flux |
\(\varphi \) | phase angle |
\(\Omega \) | ohm (unit) |
\(\omega \) | angular velocity |
\(A\) | ampere (current unit) |
\(A\) | area |
\(A\) | cross-sectional area |
\(A\) | total number of nucleons |
\(a\) | acceleration |
\({a}_{\text{B}}\) | Bohr radius |
\({a}_{\text{c}}\) | centripetal acceleration |
\({a}_{\text{t}}\) | tangential acceleration |
\(\text{AC}\) | alternating current |
\(\text{AM}\) | amplitude modulation |
\(\text{atm}\) | atmosphere |
\(B\) | baryon number |
\(B\) | blue quark color |
\(\overline{B}\) | antiblue (yellow) antiquark color |
\(b\) | quark flavor bottom or beauty |
\(B\) | bulk modulus |
\(B\) | magnetic field strength |
\({\text{B}}_{\text{int}}\) | electron’s intrinsic magnetic field |
\({\text{B}}_{\text{orb}}\) | orbital magnetic field |
\(\text{BE}\) | binding energy of a nucleus—it is the energy required to completely disassemble it into separate protons and neutrons |
\(\text{BE}/A\) | binding energy per nucleon |
\(\text{Bq}\) | becquerel—one decay per second |
\(C\) | capacitance (amount of charge stored per volt) |
\(C\) | coulomb (a fundamental SI unit of charge) |
\({C}_{\text{p}}\) | total capacitance in parallel |
\({C}_{\text{s}}\) | total capacitance in series |
\(\text{CG}\) | center of gravity |
\(\text{CM}\) | center of mass |
\(c\) | quark flavor charm |
\(c\) | specific heat |
\(c\) | speed of light |
\(\text{Cal}\) | kilocalorie |
\(\text{cal}\) | calorie |
\({\text{COP}}_{\text{hp}}\) | heat pump’s coefficient of performance |
\({\text{COP}}_{\text{ref}}\) | coefficient of performance for refrigerators and air conditioners |
\(\text{cos}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\theta \) | cosine |
\(\text{cot}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\theta \) | cotangent |
\(\text{csc}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\theta \) | cosecant |
\(D\) | diffusion constant |
\(d\) | displacement |
\(d\) | quark flavor down |
\(\text{dB}\) | decibel |
\({d}_{\text{i}}\) | distance of an image from the center of a lens |
\({d}_{\text{o}}\) | distance of an object from the center of a lens |
\(\text{DC}\) | direct current |
\(E\) | electric field strength |
\(\epsilon \) | emf (voltage) or Hall electromotive force |
\(\text{emf}\) | electromotive force |
\(E\) | energy of a single photon |
\(E\) | nuclear reaction energy |
\(E\) | relativistic total energy |
\(E\) | total energy |
\({E}_{0}\) | ground state energy for hydrogen |
\({E}_{0}\) | rest energy |
\(\text{EC}\) | electron capture |
\({E}_{\text{cap}}\) | energy stored in a capacitor |
\(\text{Eff}\) | efficiency—the useful work output divided by the energy input |
\({\text{Eff}}_{\text{C}}\) | Carnot efficiency |
\({E}_{\text{in}}\) | energy consumed (food digested in humans) |
\({E}_{\text{ind}}\) | energy stored in an inductor |
\({E}_{\text{out}}\) | energy output |
\(e\) | emissivity of an object |
\({e}^{+}\) | antielectron or positron |
\(\text{eV}\) | electron volt |
\(\text{F}\) | farad (unit of capacitance, a coulomb per volt) |
\(\text{F}\) | focal point of a lens |
\(\mathbf{\text{F}}\) | force |
\(F\) | magnitude of a force |
\(F\) | restoring force |
\({F}_{\text{B}}\) | buoyant force |
\({F}_{\text{c}}\) | centripetal force |
\({F}_{\text{i}}\) | force input |
\({\mathbf{\text{F}}}_{\text{net}}\) | net force |
\({F}_{\text{o}}\) | force output |
\(\text{FM}\) | frequency modulation |
\(f\) | focal length |
\(f\) | frequency |
\({f}_{0}\) | resonant frequency of a resistance, inductance, and capacitance \(\left(\text{RLC}\right)\) series circuit |
\({f}_{0}\) | threshold frequency for a particular material (photoelectric effect) |
\({f}_{1}\) | fundamental |
\({f}_{2}\) | first overtone |
\({f}_{3}\) | second overtone |
\({f}_{\text{B}}\) | beat frequency |
\({f}_{\text{k}}\) | magnitude of kinetic friction |
\({f}_{\text{s}}\) | magnitude of static friction |
\(G\) | gravitational constant |
\(G\) | green quark color |
\(\overline{G}\) | 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 |
\(\text{hf}\) | photon energy |
\({h}_{\text{i}}\) | height of the image |
\({h}_{\text{o}}\) | height of the object |
\(I\) | electric current |
\(I\) | intensity |
\(I\) | intensity of a transmitted wave |
\(I\) | moment of inertia (also called rotational inertia) |
\({I}_{0}\) | intensity of a polarized wave before passing through a filter |
\({I}_{\text{ave}}\) | average intensity for a continuous sinusoidal electromagnetic wave |
\({I}_{\text{rms}}\) | average current |
\(\text{J}\) | joule |
\(J/\text{Ψ}\) | Joules/psi meson |
\(\text{K}\) | kelvin |
\(k\) | Boltzmann constant |
\(k\) | force constant of a spring |
\({K}_{\alpha }\) | x rays created when an electron falls into an \(n=1\) shell vacancy from the \(n=3\) shell |
\({K}_{\beta }\) | x rays created when an electron falls into an \(n=2\) shell vacancy from the \(n=3\) shell |
\(\text{kcal}\) | kilocalorie |
\(\text{KE}\) | translational kinetic energy |
\(\text{KE}+\text{PE}\) | mechanical energy |
\({\text{KE}}_{e}\) | kinetic energy of an ejected electron |
\({\text{KE}}_{\text{rel}}\) | relativistic kinetic energy |
\({\text{KE}}_{\text{rot}}\) | rotational kinetic energy |
\(\overline{\text{KE}}\) | thermal energy |
\(\text{kg}\) | kilogram (a fundamental SI unit of mass) |
\(L\) | angular momentum |
\(\text{L}\) | liter |
\(L\) | magnitude of angular momentum |
\(L\) | self-inductance |
\(\ell \) | angular momentum quantum number |
\({L}_{\alpha }\) | x rays created when an electron falls into an \(n=2\) shell from the \(n=3\) shell |
\({L}_{e}\) | electron total family number |
\({L}_{\mu }\) | muon family total number |
\({L}_{\tau }\) | tau family total number |
\({L}_{\text{f}}\) | heat of fusion |
\({L}_{\text{f}}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\text{and}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}{L}_{\text{v}}\) | latent heat coefficients |
\({\text{L}}_{\text{orb}}\) | orbital angular momentum |
\({L}_{\text{s}}\) | heat of sublimation |
\({L}_{\text{v}}\) | heat of vaporization |
\({L}_{z}\) | z – component of the angular momentum |
\(M\) | angular magnification |
\(M\) | mutual inductance |
\(\text{m}\) | indicates metastable state |
\(m\) | magnification |
\(m\) | mass |
\(m\) | mass of an object as measured by a person at rest relative to the object |
\(\text{m}\) | meter (a fundamental SI unit of length) |
\(m\) | order of interference |
\(m\) | overall magnification (product of the individual magnifications) |
\(m\left({\text{}}^{A}\text{X}\right)\) | atomic mass of a nuclide |
\(\text{MA}\) | mechanical advantage |
\({m}_{\text{e}}\) | magnification of the eyepiece |
\({m}_{e}\) | mass of the electron |
\({m}_{\ell }\) | angular momentum projection quantum number |
\({m}_{n}\) | mass of a neutron |
\({m}_{\text{o}}\) | magnification of the objective lens |
\(\text{mol}\) | mole |
\({m}_{p}\) | mass of a proton |
\({m}_{\text{s}}\) | spin projection quantum number |
\(N\) | magnitude of the normal force |
\(\text{N}\) | newton |
\(\mathbf{\text{N}}\) | normal force |
\(N\) | number of neutrons |
\(n\) | index of refraction |
\(n\) | number of free charges per unit volume |
\({N}_{\text{A}}\) | Avogadro’s number |
\({N}_{\text{r}}\) | Reynolds number |
\(\text{N}\cdot \text{m}\) | newton-meter (work-energy unit) |
\(\text{N}\cdot \text{m}\) | newtons times meters (SI unit of torque) |
\(\text{OE}\) | other energy |
\(P\) | power |
\(P\) | power of a lens |
\(P\) | pressure |
\(\mathbf{\text{p}}\) | momentum |
\(p\) | momentum magnitude |
\(p\) | relativistic momentum |
\({\mathbf{\text{p}}}_{\text{tot}}\) | total momentum |
\({\mathbf{\text{p}}}_{\text{tot}}^{\text{‘}}\) | total momentum some time later |
\({P}_{\text{abs}}\) | absolute pressure |
\({P}_{\text{atm}}\) | atmospheric pressure |
\({P}_{\text{atm}}\) | standard atmospheric pressure |
\(\text{PE}\) | potential energy |
\({\text{PE}}_{\text{el}}\) | elastic potential energy |
\({\text{PE}}_{\text{elec}}\) | electric potential energy |
\({\text{PE}}_{\text{s}}\) | potential energy of a spring |
\({P}_{\text{g}}\) | gauge pressure |
\({P}_{\text{in}}\) | power consumption or input |
\({P}_{\text{out}}\) | 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 |
\({q}_{p}\) | charge of a proton |
\(q\) | test charge |
\(\text{QF}\) | quality factor |
\(R\) | activity, the rate of decay |
\(R\) | radius of curvature of a spherical mirror |
\(R\) | red quark color |
\(\overline{R}\) | antired (cyan) quark color |
\(R\) | resistance |
\(\text{R}\) | 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 |
\({r}_{\perp }\) | perpendicular lever arm |
\(r\) | radius of a nucleus |
\(r\) | radius of curvature |
\(r\) | resistivity |
\(\text{r or rad}\) | radiation dose unit |
\(\text{rem}\) | roentgen equivalent man |
\(\text{rad}\) | radian |
\(\text{RBE}\) | relative biological effectiveness |
\(\text{RC}\) | resistor and capacitor circuit |
\(\text{rms}\) | root mean square |
\({r}_{n}\) | radius of the nth H-atom orbit |
\({R}_{\text{p}}\) | total resistance of a parallel connection |
\({R}_{\text{s}}\) | total resistance of a series connection |
\({R}_{\text{s}}\) | Schwarzschild radius |
\(S\) | entropy |
\(\mathbf{\text{S}}\) | 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 |
\(\text{s}\) | second (fundamental SI unit of time) |
\(s\) | spin quantum number |
\(\mathbf{\text{s}}\) | total displacement |
\(\text{sec}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\theta \) | secant |
\(\text{sin}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\theta \) | sine |
\({s}_{z}\) | z-component of spin angular momentum |
\(T\) | period—time to complete one oscillation |
\(T\) | temperature |
\({T}_{\text{c}}\) | critical temperature—temperature below which a material becomes a superconductor |
\(T\) | tension |
\(\text{T}\) | tesla (magnetic field strength B) |
\(t\) | quark flavor top or truth |
\(t\) | time |
\({t}_{1/2}\) | half-life—the time in which half of the original nuclei decay |
\(\text{tan}\phantom{\rule{0.20em}{0ex}}\theta \) | tangent |
\(U\) | internal energy |
\(u\) | quark flavor up |
\(\text{u}\) | unified atomic mass unit |
\(\mathbf{\text{u}}\) | velocity of an object relative to an observer |
\({\mathbf{\text{u}}}^{\mathbf{\text{‘}}}\) | velocity relative to another observer |
\(V\) | electric potential |
\(V\) | terminal voltage |
\(\text{V}\) | volt (unit) |
\(V\) | volume |
\(\mathbf{\text{v}}\) | relative velocity between two observers |
\(v\) | speed of light in a material |
\(\mathbf{\text{v}}\) | velocity |
\(\overline{\mathbf{\text{v}}}\) | average fluid velocity |
\({V}_{\text{B}}-{V}_{\text{A}}\) | change in potential |
\({\mathbf{\text{v}}}_{\text{d}}\) | drift velocity |
\({V}_{\text{p}}\) | transformer input voltage |
\({V}_{\text{rms}}\) | rms voltage |
\({V}_{\text{s}}\) | transformer output voltage |
\({\mathbf{\text{v}}}_{\text{tot}}\) | total velocity |
\({v}_{\text{w}}\) | propagation speed of sound or other wave |
\({\mathbf{\text{v}}}_{\text{w}}\) | wave velocity |
\(W\) | work |
\(W\) | net work done by a system |
\(\text{W}\) | watt |
\(w\) | weight |
\({w}_{\text{fl}}\) | weight of the fluid displaced by an object |
\({W}_{\text{c}}\) | total work done by all conservative forces |
\({W}_{\text{nc}}\) | total work done by all nonconservative forces |
\({W}_{\text{out}}\) | useful work output |
\(X\) | amplitude |
\(\text{X}\) | symbol for an element |
\({\text{}}^{Z}{X}_{N}\) | notation for a particular nuclide |
\(x\) | deformation or displacement from equilibrium |
\(x\) | displacement of a spring from its undeformed position |
\(x\) | horizontal axis |
\({X}_{\text{C}}\) | capacitive reactance |
\({X}_{\text{L}}\) | inductive reactance |
\({x}_{\text{rms}}\) | 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 |