2 ms·
If you argue this point, first explain to me why physics is done with Greek letters. Because there are not enough letters in the Latin alphabet? You could of c
by cygx 6y ago
If you argue this point, first explain to me why physics is done with Greek letters.
Because there are not enough letters in the Latin alphabet? You could of course use words instead of single letters, but I think most people that do numeric computing would agree that the transliteration of formulas into programming language syntax using ASCII makes things less readable.
Using different alphabets (we don't just use Greek, there's also Fraktur, bold letters, etc, though physicists tend to prefer markers like vector arrows, dots, hats, ...) allows for a compact way to namespace symbols.
If I do linear algebra and see an expression like
A u = λ v + μ w
I'll know immediately what type of quantities the various symbols conventionally denote.