Delta
Delta (uppercase/lowercase Δ δ), is a letter of the Greek alphabet, used to represent the "d" sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 4. Letters that came from it include the Roman D and Cyrillic Д.
Greek alphabet | |||
---|---|---|---|
Αα | Alpha | Νν | Nu |
Ββ | Beta | Ξξ | Xi |
Γγ | Gamma | Οο | Omicron |
Δδ | Delta | Ππ | Pi |
Εε | Epsilon | Ρρ | Rho |
Ζζ | Zeta | Σσς | Sigma |
Ηη | Eta | Ττ | Tau |
Θθ | Theta | Υυ | Upsilon |
Ιι | Iota | Φφ | Phi |
Κκ | Kappa | Χχ | Chi |
Λλ | Lambda | Ψψ | Psi |
Μμ | Mu | Ωω | Omega |
Other letters | |||
Ϝϝ | Digamma | Ⱶⱶ | Heta |
Ϻϻ | San | Ϙϙ | Koppa |
Ϡϡ | Sampi | Ϛϛ | Stigma |
Ϸϸ | Sho | ||
|
In mathematics, the upper-case letter Δ can be used as symbol to represent "change" in a variable (e.g., [math]\displaystyle{ \Delta x }[/math]). It can also be used to represent discriminant—a key algebraic expression used to determine the number of roots a polynomial has. The lower-case letter [math]\displaystyle{ \delta }[/math], on the other hand, is often used to denote small quantities in proofs involving limit, a key concept on calculus is based on.[1]
In molecular chemistry, the lower case Greek letter δ is used to represent a partial charge. This is always less than the unit charge associated with an ion, but has no real fixed value.
A river delta is so named because its shape approximates the upper-case letter delta.
Related pages
References
- ↑ "Compendium of Mathematical Symbols". Math Vault. 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-08-18.