Symbol Name

Meaning

SI Unit of Measure

alpha

angular acceleration

radian per second squared (rad/s)

beta

velocity in terms of the speed of light c

unitless

Lorentz factor

unitless

photon

gamma gamma ray

shear strain

Heat capacity ratio

unitless (1)

a change in a variable (e.g. delta Laplace operator

unitless

delta

displacement (usually small)

permittivity epsilon strain

farad per meter (F/m)

unitless

energy efficiency

unitless

eta coefficient of viscosity also called simply viscosity pascal second (Pa s)

theta

angular displacement

radian (rad)

kappa

torsion coefficient also called torsion constant

newton meter per radian (N m/rad)

cosmological constant lambda wavelength

per second squared (s2)

meter (m)

magnetic moment

ampere square meter (A m)

coefficient of friction mu dynamic viscosity

permeability (electromagnetism)

frequency nu kinematic viscosity

hertz (Hz)

omega ohm

omega angular frequency

radian per second (rad/s)

mass density usually simply called density

kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m)

rho

free electric charge density, not including dipole charges bound in a material

coulomb per cubic meter (C/m)

resistivity

sigma summation operator

electrical conductivity sigma normal stress

torque

newton meter (N m)

tau

shear stress

time constant

field strength phi magnetic flux

unit varies depending on context

phi

electric potential

pi

3.14159... (irrational number) )

psi

wave function

unitless

zeta

damping ratio

unitless