This is a list of common physical constants and variables, and their notations. Note that bold text indicates that the quantity is a vector.

Latin characters

SymbolMeaningSI unit of measure
A {\displaystyle \mathbf {A} }magnetic vector potentialtesla meter (T⋅m)
A {\displaystyle A}areasquare meter (m2)
amplitudemeter
atomic mass numberunitless
a {\displaystyle \mathbf {a} }accelerationmeter per second squared (m/s2)
B {\displaystyle \mathbf {B} }magnetic flux density also called the magnetic field density or magnetic inductiontesla (T), or equivalently, weber per square meter (Wb/m2)
C {\displaystyle C}capacitancefarad (F)
heat capacityjoule per kelvin (J⋅K−1)
constant of integrationvaried depending on context
c {\displaystyle c}speed of light (in vacuum)299,792,458 meters per second (m/s)
speed of soundmeter per second (m/s)
specific heat capacityjoule per kilogram per kelvin (J⋅kg−1⋅K−1)
viscous damping coefficientkilogram per second (kg/s)
D {\displaystyle \mathbf {D} }electric displacement field also called the electric flux densitycoulomb per square meter (C/m2)
D {\displaystyle D}densitykilogram per cubic meter (kg/m3)
diametermeter (m)
d {\displaystyle d}distancemeter (m)
directionunitless
impact parametermeter (m)
differential (e.g. d x {\displaystyle dx})varied depending on context
d A {\displaystyle d\mathbf {A} }differential vector element of surface area A, with infinitesimally small magnitude and direction normal to surface Ssquare meter (m2)
d V {\displaystyle dV}differential element of volume V enclosed by surface Scubic meter (m3)
E {\displaystyle \mathbf {E} }electric fieldnewton per coulomb (N⋅C−1), or equivalently, volt per meter (V⋅m−1)
E {\displaystyle E}energyjoule (J)
Young's moduluspascal (Pa) or newton per square meter (N/m2)
e {\displaystyle e}eccentricityunitless
Euler's number (2.71828, base of the natural logarithm)unitless
electronunitless
elementary chargecoulomb (C)
F {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} }forcenewton (N)
F {\displaystyle F}Faraday constantcoulombs per mole (C⋅mol−1)
f {\displaystyle f}frequencyhertz (Hz)
functionunitless
frictionnewton (N)
G {\displaystyle G}electrical conductancesiemens (S)
universal gravitational constantnewton meter squared per kilogram squared (N⋅m2/kg2)
shear moduluspascal (Pa) or newton per square meter (N/m2)
gluon field strength tensorinverse length squared (1/m2)
g {\displaystyle \mathbf {g} }acceleration due to gravitymeters per second squared (m/s2), or equivalently, newtons per kilogram (N/kg)
H {\displaystyle \mathbf {H} }magnetic field strengthampere per meter (A/m)
H {\displaystyle H}Hamiltonianjoule (J)
enthalpyjoule (J)
thermal currentwatt (W)
h {\displaystyle h}heightmeter (m)
Planck constantjoule second (J⋅s)
ℏ {\displaystyle \hbar }reduced Planck constantjoule second (J⋅s)
I {\displaystyle I}actionjoule second (J⋅s)
intensitywatt per square meter (W/m2)
sound intensitywatt per square meter (W/m2)
electric currentampere (A)
moment of inertiakilogram meter squared (kg⋅m2)
i {\displaystyle i}intensitywatt per square meter (W/m2)
imaginary unitunitless
electric currentampere (A)
ı ^ {\displaystyle \mathbf {\hat {\imath }} }Cartesian x-axis basis unit vectorunitless
J {\displaystyle \mathbf {J} }current densityampere per square meter (A/m2)
impulsekilogram meter per second (kg⋅m/s)
j {\displaystyle \mathbf {j} }jerkmeter per second cubed (m/s3)
j {\displaystyle j}imaginary unit (electrical)unitless
ȷ ^ {\displaystyle \mathbf {\hat {\jmath }} }Cartesian y-axis basis unit vectorunitless
K {\displaystyle K}kinetic energyjoule (J)
k {\displaystyle \mathbf {k} }wave vectorradian per meter (m−1)
k {\displaystyle k}Boltzmann constantjoule per kelvin (J/K)
wavenumberradian per meter (m−1)
stiffnessnewton per meter (N⋅m−1)
k ^ {\displaystyle \mathbf {\hat {k}} }Cartesian z-axis basis unit vectorunitless
L {\displaystyle \mathbf {L} }angular momentumnewton meter second (N⋅m⋅s or kg⋅m2⋅s−1)
L {\displaystyle L}inductancehenry (H)
luminositywatt (W)
Lagrangianjoule (J)
L {\displaystyle {\mathcal {L}}}Lagrangian densityjoule per cubic meter (J/m3)
l {\displaystyle l}lengthmeter (m)
azimuthal quantum numberunitless
M {\displaystyle \mathbf {M} }magnetizationampere per meter (A/m)
M {\displaystyle M}moment of force often simply called moment or torquenewton meter (N⋅m)
m {\displaystyle m}masskilogram (kg)
N {\displaystyle \mathbf {N} }normal vectorunit varies depending on context
N {\displaystyle N}atomic numberunitless
n {\displaystyle n}refractive indexunitless
principal quantum numberunitless
amount of substancemole
P {\displaystyle P}powerwatt (W)
active power (real power)watt (W)
probabilityunitless
p {\displaystyle \mathbf {p} }momentumkilogram meter per second (kg⋅m/s)
p {\displaystyle p}pressurepascal (Pa)
Q {\displaystyle Q}electric chargecoulomb (C)
heatjoule (J)
Reactive Powervolt-ampere reactive (var)
q {\displaystyle \mathbf {q} }Generalized coordinatesvaried depending on context (sometimes meter (m) or radian (rad))
q {\displaystyle q}electric chargecoulomb (C)
R {\displaystyle R}electrical resistanceohm (Ω)
Ricci tensorreciprocal square meter (m−2)
radiancymeter per second
gas constantjoule per mole per kelvin (J⋅mol−1⋅K−1)
r {\displaystyle \mathbf {r} }radius vector (position)meter (m)
r {\displaystyle r}radius or distancemeter (m)
S {\displaystyle S}surface areasquare meter (m2)
entropyjoule per kelvin (J/K)
actionjoule second (J⋅s)
apparent power (complex power)Volt-Ampere (VA)
s {\displaystyle \mathbf {s} }displacementmeter (m)
s {\displaystyle s}arc lengthmeter (m)
distancemeter (m)
T {\displaystyle T}periodsecond (s)
temperaturekelvin (K) or Celsius (C)
kinetic energyjoule (J)
t {\displaystyle t}timesecond (s)
U {\displaystyle \mathbf {U} }four-velocitymeter per second (m/s)
U {\displaystyle U}potential energyjoule (J)
internal energyjoule (J)
uinitial velocitymeter per second (m/s)
u {\displaystyle u}relativistic masskilogram (kg)
energy densityjoule per cubic meter (J/m3)
specific energyjoule per kilogram (J/kg)
V {\displaystyle V}voltage also called electric potential differencevolt (V)
volumecubic meter (m3)
shear forcenewton (N)
v {\displaystyle \mathbf {v} }velocitymeter per second (m/s)
W {\displaystyle W}weightnewton (N)
mechanical workjoule (J)
w {\displaystyle w}widthmeter (m)
X {\displaystyle X}electrical reactanceohm (Ω)
x {\displaystyle \mathbf {x} }position vectormeter (m)
displacementmeter (m)
x {\displaystyle x}a generic unknownvaried depending on context
Y {\displaystyle Y}admittancesiemens (S)
Z {\displaystyle Z}compressibility factorunitless
electrical impedanceohm (Ω)
Z 0 {\displaystyle Z_{0}}impedance of free spaceohm (Ω)

Greek characters

SymbolNameMeaningSI unit of measure
α {\displaystyle \alpha }alphaalpha particle
angular accelerationradian per second squared (rad/s2)
fine-structure constantunitless
β {\displaystyle \beta }betavelocity in terms of the speed of light cunitless
beta particle
γ {\displaystyle \gamma }gammaLorentz factorunitless
photon
gamma ray
shear strainradian
heat capacity ratiounitless
surface tensionnewton per meter (N/m)
Δ {\displaystyle \Delta }deltachange in a variable (e.g. Δ x {\displaystyle \Delta x})unitless
Laplace operatorper square meter (m−2)
δ {\displaystyle \delta }displacement (usually small)meter (m)
Dirac delta function
Kronecker delta (e.g δ i j {\displaystyle \delta _{ij}})
ϵ {\displaystyle \epsilon }epsilonpermittivityfarad per meter (F/m)
strainunitless
ε 0 {\displaystyle \varepsilon _{0}}epsilon noughtVacuum permittivityfarad per meter (F/m)
ζ {\displaystyle \zeta }zetadamping ratiounitless
η {\displaystyle \eta }etaangular jerkradian per second cubed (rad⋅s−3)
energy efficiencyunitless
(dynamic) viscosity (also μ {\displaystyle \mu })pascal second (Pa⋅s)
θ {\displaystyle \theta }thetaangular displacementradian (rad)
κ {\displaystyle \kappa }kappatorsion coefficient also called torsion constantnewton meter per radian (N⋅m/rad)
Λ {\displaystyle \Lambda }lambdacosmological constantper second squared (s−2)
λ {\displaystyle \lambda }wavelengthmeter (m)
linear charge densitycoulomb per meter (C/m)
eigenvaluenon-zero vector
μ {\displaystyle \mathbf {\mu } }mumagnetic momentampere square meter (A⋅m2)
coefficient of frictionunitless
(dynamic) viscosity (also η {\displaystyle \eta })pascal second (Pa⋅s)
permeability (electromagnetism)henry per meter (H/m)
reduced masskilogram (kg)
Standard gravitational parametercubic meter per second squared
μ 0 {\displaystyle \mathbf {\mu } _{0}}mu noughtVacuum permeability or the magnetic constanthenry per meter (H/m)
ν {\displaystyle \nu }nufrequencyhertz (Hz)
kinematic viscositymeter squared per second (m2/s)
neutrino
ξ {\displaystyle \xi }xielectromotive forcevolt (V)
π {\displaystyle \pi }pi3.14159... (irrational number)unitless
ρ {\displaystyle \rho }rhomass density usually simply called densitykilogram per cubic meter (kg/m3)
volume charge densitycoulomb per cubic meter (C/m3)
resistivityohm meter (Ω⋅m)
Σ {\displaystyle \Sigma }sigmasummation operator
σ {\displaystyle \sigma }area charge densitycoulomb per square meter (C/m2)
electrical conductivitysiemens per meter (S/m)
normal stresspascal (Pa)
scattering cross sectionbarn (10^-28 m^2)
surface tensionnewton per meter (N/m)
τ {\displaystyle \tau }tautorquenewton meter (N⋅m)
shear stresspascal (Pa)
time constantsecond (s)
6.28318... ()unitless
Φ {\displaystyle \Phi }phifield strengthunit varies depending on context
magnetic fluxweber (Wb)
ϕ {\displaystyle \phi }electric potentialvolt (V)
Higgs field work function
Ψ {\displaystyle \Psi }psiwave functionm−3/2
Ω {\displaystyle \Omega }omegaelectric resistanceohm
ω {\displaystyle \omega }angular frequencyradian per second (rad/s)
angular velocityradian per second (rad/s)

Other characters

SymbolNameMeaningSI unit of measure
∇ ⋅ {\displaystyle \nabla \cdot }nabla dotthe divergence operator often pronounced "del dot"per meter (m−1)
∇ × {\displaystyle \nabla \times }nabla crossthe curl operator often pronounced "del cross"per meter (m−1)
∇ {\displaystyle \nabla }nablathe gradient operatorper meter (m−1)
∂ {\displaystyle \partial }"der", "dow", "die", "partial" or simply "d"partial derivative (e.g. ∂ y / ∂ x {\displaystyle \partial y/\partial x})
◻ {\displaystyle \Box }D'Alembert operator∇ 2 − ∂ t 2 {\displaystyle \nabla ^{2}-\partial _{t}^{2}}
⟨ ⟩ {\displaystyle \langle \,\,\rangle }angle bracketsaverage sometimes over Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution
⟨ | ⟩ {\displaystyle \langle \ |\ \rangle }Dirac notation
∫ {\displaystyle \int }integralthe inverse of the derivative.unitless

See also

  • Elert, Glenn. . The Physics Hypertextbook.
  • NIST (16 August 2023). . www.nist.gov. NIST.