LAMBDA

'Lambda' (uppercase 'Λ', lowercase 'λ') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 30. Letters that arose from Lambda include the Roman L and the Cyrillic letter El (Л, л).

Contents

Symbol

Upper-case letter Λ

Lower-case letter λ

Lambda, the word

Lambda in popular culture

References

Symbol

Upper-case letter Λ

★ The lambda particles in particle physics.

★ The set of logical axioms in the axiomatic method of logical deduction in first-order logic.

★ The cosmological constant.

★ Used as a shield pattern by the Spartan army; it stood for Lakedaimon, the name of the region.

★ The von Mangoldt function in number theory.

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

★ In spectral decomposition of matrices, a diagonal matrix of eigenvalues of the decomposed matrix.

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

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

★ In NATO military operations, the Lambda symbol is painted on coalition force vehicles for identification.

★ In Electrochemistry, denotes the Equivalent conductance of an electrolyte.

Lower-case letter λ

★ A non-SI unit of measure of volume (symbol 'λ') equal to one microlitre (1 μL) or one cubic millimetre (1 mm³). This now-rare use is deprecated.

★ The wavelength of a wave in physics/radio sciences

★ The radioactive decay constant (Connected to Half-life of a radioactive isotope in physics)

★ The lambda phage virus in biology

★ In computer science, the empty string, though different writers use a variety of other symbols for the empty string as well, including the lower case Greek letter epsilon.

★ In telecommunications, a frequency/wavelength on a WDM optical transport system

★ Eigenvalues in linear algebra

★ Lagrange multipliers in calculus

★ Goodman & Kruskal's lambda is a statistic that gives the proportional reduction in error when one variable's values are used to predict the values of another variable.

★ Function expressions in lambda calculus and, by extension, some programming languages

★ stoichiometric air to fuel ratio oxygen sensor in an internal combustion engine's exhaust gas

★ A Japanese rocket type, Lambda (rocket)

★ The failure rate in hours (also the reciprocal of MTBF) in reliability theory.

★ In criminology, the individual offending frequency.

★ Said to signify unity under oppression, explaining its use as a Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) symbol.

★ In the game Half-Life, Gordon Freeman sports the lambda symbol on his HEV suit, which is also used by the Resistance in the Half-Life 2 as their symbol.

★ Christopher Langton's parameter for clasification Stephen Wolfram's classes of cellular automata

★ In Electrochemistry is used to denote the ionic conductance for a given ion (The ion is generally shown as a subscript to the lambda character).

Lambda, the word

★ In anatomy, the 'lambda' is that point on the skull where the two parietal bones and the occipital bone come together. The configuration of the sutures resembles an upper case lambda, and the suture between each parietal bone and the occipital bone is called the lambdoid suture.

★ In programming languages such as Lisp and Python, 'lambda' is an operator used to create closures.

★ The language Unlambda is a functional programming language based upon combinatory logic, a simplification of the lambda calculus that does not involve the lambda at all, hence the un- prefix.

★ An automotive oxygen sensor is also known as an O2 sensor, lambda probe, lambda sensor and lambda sound

★ Guy Steele, both alone and with Gerald Sussman (the two co-inventors of the Scheme programming language), wrote a series of papers beginning with the title "Lambda, the ultimate" [1]. The programming website Lambda the Ultimate[2] derives its name from these papers.

★ 'Lambda' is used in art and photography to refer to a digital Type C print or the equipment used to produce it.

★ National LambdaRail

Lambda in popular culture

★ The popular science fiction universe of ''Star Wars'' uses a transport vehicle known as the Lambda-class shuttle that when viewed forward has the shape of the lambda.

★ Lambda is occasionally used in graphic design to represent stylized A's. Examples include the Disney movie '', the TV series ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis'', the logo of the band ''Angels and Airwaves'', the logo of the band ''Dream Theater'', the name of the band ''Λucifer'' and the logo of electronics company Samsung.


★ ''Stargate SG-1'' uses a modified upper-case lambda, with a small circle above the apex, to indicate Earth. This symbol has since become associated with the entire franchise.

★ In the ''Half-Life'' series of computer games, the Lambda complex, the protagonist Gordon Freeman's suit, some uniforms, and the robotic ''Døg'' all feature a lower-case lambda symbol. In the Half Life 2 title, the A is replaced by it and graffiti sprayed around City 17 also feature the symbol, the logo of the ''Half Life'' series is a circle with the lower case lambda symbol in it, shown with a "2" superscript for ''Half Life 2''.

★ As a bonus following the conclusion of the ''X-DAY'' manga, by Mizushiro Setona, the second book features a short tale entitled "The Last Supper." Its protagonist is a cow, genetically modified to have more human features, Lambda 26. The lambda character is tattooed on the outside of his right forearm.

★ GM Lambda platform, a crossover SUV automobile platform from General Motors

★ The name of the Nerds' fraternity in ''Revenge of the Nerds'' film series was Lambda Lambda Lambda, or "the Tri-Lambs." The logo consisted of three capital Lambda letters inside a triangle.

★ In the popular anime series ''Full Metal Panic!'' A very select few Arm Slaves possess the device called the Lambda Driver which can manifest emotional thought patterns into raw physical (and sometimes destructive) power. In Full Metal Panic! (primary series), Sousuke Sagara's ARX-7 "Arbalest" has a Lambda Driver (but due to Sagara's lack of experience, it only served to aid him most minimally and improved as time progressed). All oppositions Sousuke has faced where his enemy has used the Lambda Driver also exhibited great power, especially Gauron on three counts; and were all defeated using Arbalest's Lambda Driver.

★ In the Sailor Moon manga, the character Sailor Cosmos claimed to have the ultimate "Lambda Power."

★ Is the one of the main antagonists in ''.

★ In the video game ''Skies of Arcadia'', the character Aika uses an attack known as Lambda Burst. In fact, all her attacks are based on Greek letters.

★ Lambda is a name of an electrostatic headphone made by the audio company Stax Earspeakers. It is also a name of an amp made by Z-audio.

★ Lambda Acid is also the name of a synthesis item in the online action RPG, ''Phantasy Star Universe''.

★ Lambda Ltd. is the name of a large technology company in the Custom Robo series of video games.

★ The latest installment of the Guilty Gear series of games is called Guilty Gear XX Λ Core, commonly pronounced as "Guilty Gear Accent Core".

References