Gamma (letter)

From Wikinfo

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Ββ	Beta
Γγ	Gamma	Δδ	Delta
Εε	Epsilon	Ϝϝ	Wau
Ϛϛ	Stigma	Ζζ	Zeta
Ηη	Eta	Ͱͱ	Heta
Θθ	Theta	Ιι	Iota
Jȷ	Yot	Κκ	Kappa
Λλ	Lamda	Μμ	Mu
Νν	Nu	Ξξ	Xi
Οο	Omicron	Ππ	Pi
Ϻϻ	San	Ϸϸ	Sho
Ϙϙ	Koppa	Ρρ	Rho
Σσ	Sigma	Ττ	Tau
Υυ	Upsilon	Φφ	Phi
Χχ	Chi	Ψψ	Psi
Ωω	Omega	Ͳͳ	Sampi
Greek numerals

Gamma (uppercase/lowercase Γ γ), is the letter of the Greek alphabet, used to represent the "g" sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 3. Letters that came from it include the Roman G and Cyrillic Г.

It gives its name to several things:

• Gamma characteristic power law, and gamma correction in television and computer display systems. Gamma is the exponent in a power-law relationship between video or pixel values and the displayed brightness.
• In the game of Tetris, gamma is another name for the J tetromino.

The upper-case letter Γ is used as the symbol for:

• The gamma function (related to factorials) in mathematics.
• The reflection coefficient in electrical engineering.

The lower-case letter γ is used as the symbol for:

• The Euler-Mascheroni constant in mathematics.
• The photon, seen (pun intended) as an elementary particle in physics.
• Gamma rays in physics and astronomy.
• The gamma factor in relativity theory and astronomy.
• The adiabatic index of a gas in physics. Often the letter kappa κ is used.

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Gamma_(letter)" http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_(letter), used under the GNU Free Documentation License