Physics symbols in LaTeX

16 commands, each with the package it needs

Symbol reference, latexci

Abstract

The reduced Planck constant, vector calculus, time derivatives and Dirac notation, as physicists write them. Table 1 lists every symbol of the category with its rendered glyph, the command to type and the package to load; each name links to a page with a worked example, and 3 of them to a note comparing the commands that compile.

1The symbols

Glyph	Command	Package	Page
$\hbar$	`\hbar`	none	H-bar
$\nabla$	`\nabla`	none	Nabla
$\nabla^2$	`\nabla^2`	none	Laplacian
$\nabla \cdot$	`\nabla \cdot`	none	Divergence
$\nabla \times$	`\nabla \times`	none	Curl
$\partial$	`\partial`	none	Partial Deriv
$\dot{x}$	`\dot{x}`	none	Dot Deriv
$\ddot{x}$	`\ddot{x}`	none	Ddot Deriv
$\langle \psi \|$	`\langle \psi \|`	none	Bra
$\| \psi \rangle$	`\| \psi \rangle`	none	Ket
$\langle \phi \| \psi \rangle$	`\langle \phi \| \psi \rangle`	none	Braket
$\rightleftharpoons$	`\rightleftharpoons`	none	Equilibrium
$\text{\AA}$	`\text{\AA}`	`amsmath`	Angstrom
$^\circ\mathrm{C}$	`^\circ\mathrm{C}`	none	Degree Celsius
$\infty$	`\infty`	none	Infinity
$\dagger$	`\dagger`	none	Dagger

Table 1. Physics symbols in LaTeX: glyph, command, package (none means built into LaTeX) and the page for each symbol. Commands go inside math mode unless the page says otherwise.

2Other categories

The same table exists for every family of symbols. To find one by name or by pasting the character, use the symbol search.

Abstract

1The symbols

Glyph	Command	Package	Page
$\hbar$	`\hbar`	none	H-bar
$\nabla$	`\nabla`	none	Nabla
$\nabla^2$	`\nabla^2`	none	Laplacian
$\nabla \cdot$	`\nabla \cdot`	none	Divergence
$\nabla \times$	`\nabla \times`	none	Curl
$\partial$	`\partial`	none	Partial Deriv
$\dot{x}$	`\dot{x}`	none	Dot Deriv
$\ddot{x}$	`\ddot{x}`	none	Ddot Deriv
$\langle \psi \|$	`\langle \psi \|`	none	Bra
$\| \psi \rangle$	`\| \psi \rangle`	none	Ket
$\langle \phi \| \psi \rangle$	`\langle \phi \| \psi \rangle`	none	Braket
$\rightleftharpoons$	`\rightleftharpoons`	none	Equilibrium
$\text{\AA}$	`\text{\AA}`	`amsmath`	Angstrom
$^\circ\mathrm{C}$	`^\circ\mathrm{C}`	none	Degree Celsius
$\infty$	`\infty`	none	Infinity
$\dagger$	`\dagger`	none	Dagger

Table 1. Physics symbols in LaTeX: glyph, command, package (none means built into LaTeX) and the page for each symbol. Commands go inside math mode unless the page says otherwise.