Mechanical Engineer's Pocket Book, 3rd Edition

1

Engineering Mathematics

1.1 The Greek alphabet

Name	Symbol		Examples of use
	Capital	Lower case
alpha	A	α	Angles, angular acceleration, various coefficients
beta	B	β	Angles, coefficients
gamma	Γ	γ	Shear strain, surface tension, kinematic viscosity
delta	Δ	δ	Differences, damping coefficient
epsilon	E	ε	Linear strain
zeta	Z	ζ
eta	H	η	Dynamic viscosity, efficiency
theta	Θ	θ	Angles, temperature, volume strain
iota	I	ι
kappa	K	κ	Compressibility
lambda	Λ	λ	Wavelength, thermal conductivity
mu	M	μ	Poisson’s ratio, coefficient of friction
nu	N	v	Dynamic viscosity
xi	Ξ	ξ
omicron	O	ο
pi	Π	π	Mathematical constant
rho	P	ρ	Density
sigma	Σ	σ	Normal stress, standard deviation, sum of
tau	T	τ	Shear stress
upsilon	Y	v
phi	ϕ	ϕ	Angles, heat flow rate, potential energy
chi	X	X
psi	Ψ	ψ	Helix angle (gears)
omega	Ω	ω	Angular velocity, solid angle (ω) electrical ...