Epsilon
The Epsilon (Greek neuter Έψιλον, Ε majuscule, minuscule ε or ε ) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numerical value of 5
Origin
Sign E, originally comes from the Phoenician letter "he" and was used by the Greeks for the vowel "E". The name "e psilón " (gr. ἔ ψιλόν ) means " simple" or " unclothed e" (opposite the letter combination " αι " which has ψιλόν the same phonetic value as the ἔ since the Hellenistic period ).
Use
- In phonetics epsilon an open e means
- In mathematics ε is used to designate an arbitrarily small number greater than zero. Such a number is needed in the analysis in the definition of supremum and infimum limits for. This area is therefore known as " epsilontics ".
- In some areas of mathematics describes ε ( x) is a Heaviside function,
- And in the tensor ε is the Levi- Civita symbol.
- Mathematicians and astronomers use ε (next s) for the numerical eccentricity of an ellipse, or elliptical orbit.
- In astronomy, ε Most of the fourth- to sechsthellste star in each constellation, such Alioth = ε Ursae Majoris (the " handle of the Big Dipper " )
- And the reference number of two meteor streams ( epsilon- Geminids and Epsilon Perseids )