Lambda

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This article is about the Greek letter. For other uses, see Lambda (disambiguation).

"Labda" redirects here. For the mythological figure, see Labda (mythology). For the drama school, see
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. For the computer science term, see Lambda Calculus. For
the Chinese radical, see 人.

"Λ" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Turned V.

Lambda uc lc.svg

Greek alphabet

Αα Alpha Νν Nu

Ββ Beta Ξξ Xi

Γγ GammaΟο 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 LambdaΨψ Psi

Μμ Mu Ωω Omega

History

Archaic local variants

DigammaHetaSanKoppaSampiTsan

DiacriticsLigatures

Numerals

ϛ (6)ϟ (90)ϡ (900)

Use in other languages

Related topics

Use as scientific symbols

Wikipedia book BookCategory Category

vte

Lambda (/ˈlæmdə/;[1] uppercase Λ, lowercase λ; Greek: λάμ(β)δα, lám(b)da) is the 11th letter of the
Greek alphabet, representing the sound /l/. In the system of Greek numerals lambda has a value of 30.
Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed Lamedh. Lambda gave rise to the Latin L and the Cyrillic El
(Л). The ancient grammarians and dramatists give evidence to the pronunciation as [laːbdaː] (λάβδα) in
Classical Greek times.[2] In Modern Greek the name of the letter, Λάμδα, is pronounced [ˈlam.ða].

In early Greek alphabets, the shape and orientation of lambda varied.[3] Most variants consisted of two
straight strokes, one longer than the other, connected at their ends. The angle might be in the upper-
left, lower-left ("Western" alphabets) or top ("Eastern" alphabets). Other variants had a vertical line with
a horizontal or sloped stroke running to the right. With the general adoption of the Ionic alphabet,
Greek settled on an angle at the top; the Romans put the angle at the lower-left.

The HTML 4 character entity references for the Greek capital and small letter lambda are Λ and
λ respectively.[4] The Unicode code points for lambda are U+039B and U+03BB.

The Greek alphabet on a black figure vessel, with a Phoenician-lamed-shaped lambda. The gamma has
the shape of modern lambda.

Contents

1 Symbol

1.1 Upper-case letter Λ

1.2 Lower-case letter λ

1.3 Litra symbol

2 Character encodings

3 See also

4 References
Symbol

Upper-case letter Λ

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Examples of the symbolic use of uppercase lambda include:

The lambda particle is a type of subatomic particle in subatomic particle physics.

Lambda is the set of logical axioms in the axiomatic method of logical deduction in first-order logic.

Lambda was used as a shield pattern by the Spartan army during the Peloponnesian War. This stood for
Lacedaemon (Λακεδαίμων, Lakedaímōn), the name of the polis of the Spartans, as opposed to the city
itself.

Lambda is the von Mangoldt function in mathematical number theory.

In statistics, lambda is used for the likelihood ratio.

In statistics, Wilks's lambda is used in multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA analysis) to compare
group means on a combination of dependent variables.

In the spectral decomposition of matrices, lambda indicates the diagonal matrix of the eigenvalues of
the matrix.

In computer science, lambda is the time window over which a process is observed for determining the
working memory set for a digital computer's virtual memory management.

In astrophysics, lambda represents the likelihood that a small body will encounter a planet or a dwarf
planet leading to a deflection of a significant magnitude. An object with a large value of lambda is
expected to have cleared its neighborhood, satisfying the current definition of a planet.

In crystal optics, lambda is used to represent the period of a lattice.

In NATO military operations, a chevron (a heraldic symbol which looks like a capital letter lambda or
inverted V) is painted on the vehicles of this military alliance for identification.

In chemistry there are Δ (delta) and Λ (lambda) isomers, see: coordination complex

In electrochemistry, lambda denotes the "equivalent conductance" of an electrolyte solution.

In cosmology, lambda is the symbol for the cosmological constant, a term added to some dynamical
equations to account for the accelerating expansion of the universe.
In optics, lambda denotes the grating pitch of a Bragg reflector.

In block-handwritten Cyrillic, this letter represents Л in both uppercase and lowercase.

In politics the lambda is the symbol of Identitarianism, a white nationalist movement that originated in
France before spreading out to the rest of Europe and later on to North America, Australia and New
Zealand. The Identitarian lambda represents the Battle of Thermopylae.

Lower-case letter λ

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Lower-case lambda

Examples of the symbolic use of lowercase lambda include:

Lambda indicates the wavelength of any wave, especially in physics, electronics engineering, and
mathematics.[5]

In evolutionary algorithms, λ indicates the number of offspring that would be generated from μ current
population in each generation. The terms μ and λ are originated from Evolution strategy notation.

Lambda indicates the radioactivity decay constant in nuclear physics and radioactivity. This constant is
very simply related (by a multiplicative constant) to the half-life of any radioactive material.

In probability theory, lambda represents the density of occurrences within a time interval, as modeled
by the Poisson distribution.

In mathematical logic and computer science, lambda is used to introduce anonymous functions
expressed with the concepts of lambda calculus.

Lambda is a unit of volume, synonymous with one microliter (1 μL), that is, one cubic millimetre (1
mm3). This use is currently deprecated.

Lambda indicates an eigenvalue in the mathematics of linear algebra.

In the physics of electric fields, lambda sometimes indicates the linear charge density of a uniform line of
electric charge (measured in coulombs per meter).

Lambda denotes a Lagrange multiplier in multi-dimensional calculus.

In solid-state electronics, lambda indicates the channel length modulation parameter of a MOSFET.
In ecology, lambda denotes the long-term intrinsic growth rate of a population. This value is often
calculated as the dominant eigenvalue of the age/size class matrix (mathematics).

In formal language theory and in computer science, lambda denotes the empty string.

Lambda is a nonstandard symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for the voiced alveolar lateral
affricate [dɮ].

Lambda denotes the Lebesgue measure in mathematical set theory.

The Goodman and Kruskal's lambda in statistics indicates the proportional reduction in error when one
variable's values are used to predict the values of another variable.

Lambda denotes the oxygen sensor in a vehicle that measures the air-to-fuel ratio in the exhaust gases
of an internal-combustion engine.

A Lambda 4S solid-fuel rocket was used to launch Japan's first orbital satellite in 1970.[6]

Lambda denotes the failure rate of devices and systems in reliability theory, and it is measured in failure
events per hour. Numerically, this lambda is also the reciprocal of the mean time between failures.

In criminology, lambda denotes an individual's frequency of offenses.

In cartography and navigation, lambda denotes the longitude of a location.

In electrochemistry, lambda also denotes the ionic conductance of a given ion (the composition of the
ion is generally shown as a subscript to the lambda character).

In neurobiology, lambda denotes the length constant (or exponential rate of decay) of the electric
potential across the cell membrane along a length of a nerve cell's axon.

In the science and technology of heat transfer, lambda denotes the heat of vaporization per mole of
material (a.k.a. its "latent heat").[7]

In the technology and science of celestial navigation, lambda denotes the longitude as opposed to the
Roman letter "L", which denotes the latitude.

A block style lambda is used as a recurring symbol in the Valve computer game series Half-Life,[8]
referring to the Lambda complex of the fictional Black Mesa Research Facility, as well as making
appearances in the sequel Half-Life 2, and its subsequent prequel Half-Life: Alyx.[9]

In 1970, a lowercase lambda was chosen by Tom Doerr as the symbol of the New York chapter of the
Gay Activists Alliance.[10][11] The lambda symbol became associated with Gay Liberation[12][13] and
recognized as an LGBT symbol for some time afterwards, being used as such by the International Gay
Rights Congress in Edinburgh,[14] the gay rights organization Lambda Legal, and the Lambda Literary
Foundation, among others.

Litra symbol

The Roman libra and Byzantine lítra (λίτρα), which served as both the pound mass unit and liter volume
unit, were abbreviated in Greek using lambda with modified forms of the iota subscript (as λͅ). These are
variously encoded in Unicode. The Ancient Greek Numbers Unicode block includes 10183 greek litra sign
(𐆃) as well as 𐅢, which is described as 10162 greek acrophonic hermionian ten[15] but was much more
common as a form of the litra sign. A variant of the sign can be formed from 0338 combining long
solidus overlay and either 039B greek capital letter lamda (Λ̸) or 03BB greek small letter lamda (λ̸).[16]

Character encodings

Unicode uses the spelling "lamda" in character names, instead of "lambda", due to "preferences
expressed by the Greek National Body".[17]

Greek Lambda / Coptic Laula

Character information

PreviewΛ λ ᴧ Ⲗ ⲗ

Unicode name greek capital letter lamda greek small letter lamdagreek letter small capital lamda
coptic capital letter laula coptic small letter laula

Encodings decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex

Unicode 923 U+039B955 U+03BB7463 U+1D27 11414 U+2C9611415 U+2C97

UTF-8 206 155CE 9B 206 187CE BB 225 180 167 E1 B4 A7 226 178 150 E2 B2 96
226 178 151 E2 B2 97

Numeric character reference Λ Λ λ λ ᴧ

Named character reference Λ λ

DOS Greek 138 8A 162 A2

DOS Greek-2 182 B6 229 E5

Windows-1253 203 CB 235 EB

TeX \Lambda \lambda

Mathematical Lambda

Character information

Preview𝚲 𝛌 𝛬 𝜆 𝜦 𝝀

Unicode name mathematical bold

capital lamda mathematical bold

small lamda mathematical italic

capital lamda mathematical italic

capital lamda mathematical bold italic

small lamda

Encodings decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex decimal

Unicode 120498 U+1D6B2 120524 U+1D6CC 120556 U+1D6EC 120582

UTF-8 240 157 154 178 F0 9D 9A B2 240 157 155 140 F0 9D 9B 8C 240 157 155
172 F0 9D 9B AC 240 157 156 134 F0 9D 9C 86 240 157 156 166 F0 9D 9C A6
240 157 157 128 F0 9D 9D 80

UTF-16 55349 57010 D835 DEB2 55349 57036 D835 DECC 55349 57068 D835 DEEC
55349 57094 D835 DF06 55349 57126 D835 DF26 55349 57152 D835 DF40

Numeric character reference 𝚲 𝚲 𝛌 𝛌

Character information

Preview𝝠 𝝺 𝞚 𝞴

Unicode name mathematical sans-serif

bold capital lamda mathematical sans-serif

bold small lamda mathematical sans-serif

bold italic capital lamda mathematical sans-serif

bold italic small lamda

Encodings decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex decimalhex

Unicode 120672 U+1D760 120698 U+1D77A 120730 U+1D79A 120756

UTF-8 240 157 157 160 F0 9D 9D A0 240 157 157 186 F0 9D 9D BA 240 157 158
154 F0 9D 9E 9A 240 157 158 180 F0 9D 9E B4

UTF-16 55349 57184 D835 DF60 55349 57210 D835 DF7A 55349 57242 D835 DF9A
55349 57268 D835 DFB4

Numeric character reference 𝝠 𝝠 𝝺 𝝺

These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using
the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style.
See also

Look up Λ or λ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

El (Cyrillic) – Л, л

Fraser alphabet#Consonants

Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering

Half-life

References

"lambda". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating
institution membership required.)

Herbert Weir Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. I.1.c

"Epigraphic Sources for Early Greek Writing". Poinikastas.CSAD.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-03.