# 1.6 Glossary of key symbols and notation

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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 n th 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

#### Questions & Answers

how can chip be made from sand
Eke Reply
is this allso about nanoscale material
Almas
are nano particles real
Missy Reply
yeah
Joseph
Hello, if I study Physics teacher in bachelor, can I study Nanotechnology in master?
Lale Reply
no can't
Lohitha
where is the latest information on a no technology how can I find it
William
currently
William
where we get a research paper on Nano chemistry....?
Maira Reply
nanopartical of organic/inorganic / physical chemistry , pdf / thesis / review
Ali
what are the products of Nano chemistry?
Maira Reply
There are lots of products of nano chemistry... Like nano coatings.....carbon fiber.. And lots of others..
learn
Even nanotechnology is pretty much all about chemistry... Its the chemistry on quantum or atomic level
learn
Google
da
no nanotechnology is also a part of physics and maths it requires angle formulas and some pressure regarding concepts
Bhagvanji
hey
Giriraj
Preparation and Applications of Nanomaterial for Drug Delivery
Hafiz Reply
revolt
da
Application of nanotechnology in medicine
has a lot of application modern world
Kamaluddeen
yes
narayan
what is variations in raman spectra for nanomaterials
Jyoti Reply
ya I also want to know the raman spectra
Bhagvanji
I only see partial conversation and what's the question here!
Crow Reply
what about nanotechnology for water purification
RAW Reply
please someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think one can use nanoparticles, specially silver nanoparticles for water treatment.
Damian
yes that's correct
Professor
I think
Professor
Nasa has use it in the 60's, copper as water purification in the moon travel.
Alexandre
nanocopper obvius
Alexandre
what is the stm
Brian Reply
is there industrial application of fullrenes. What is the method to prepare fullrene on large scale.?
Rafiq
industrial application...? mmm I think on the medical side as drug carrier, but you should go deeper on your research, I may be wrong
Damian
How we are making nano material?
LITNING Reply
what is a peer
LITNING Reply
What is meant by 'nano scale'?
LITNING Reply
What is STMs full form?
LITNING
scanning tunneling microscope
Sahil
how nano science is used for hydrophobicity
Santosh
Do u think that Graphene and Fullrene fiber can be used to make Air Plane body structure the lightest and strongest. Rafiq
Rafiq
what is differents between GO and RGO?
Mahi
what is simplest way to understand the applications of nano robots used to detect the cancer affected cell of human body.? How this robot is carried to required site of body cell.? what will be the carrier material and how can be detected that correct delivery of drug is done Rafiq
Rafiq
if virus is killing to make ARTIFICIAL DNA OF GRAPHENE FOR KILLED THE VIRUS .THIS IS OUR ASSUMPTION
Anam
analytical skills graphene is prepared to kill any type viruses .
Anam
Any one who tell me about Preparation and application of Nanomaterial for drug Delivery
Hafiz
what is Nano technology ?
Bob Reply
write examples of Nano molecule?
Bob
The nanotechnology is as new science, to scale nanometric
brayan
nanotechnology is the study, desing, synthesis, manipulation and application of materials and functional systems through control of matter at nanoscale
Damian
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Source:  OpenStax, Basic physics for medical imaging. OpenStax CNX. Feb 17, 2014 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11630/1.1
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