By Igor R. · Updated September 2026 Tested on Windows 11, macOS, Word, Google Docs and LaTeX. Symbol code points follow the Unicode Standard.
Short answer: Copy any physics symbol from the tool below. To type them yourself, the most reliable route is Word’s hex trick — type the code then press Alt + X: 210F → ℏ, 3BB → λ, 2206 → ∆. In LaTeX, it’s \hbar, \lambda and \Delta.
Tap to copy. μ and µ, and ∆ and Δ, are different characters — see the lookalike traps below.
Need a symbol that isn’t here? The Symbol Identifier tells you what any pasted character is and how to type it.
Physics notation leans on a small set of characters that regular keyboards don’t carry: Greek letters for wavelength, frequency and angular velocity, ℏ for the reduced Planck constant, Å for atomic distances, and the delta family for change and derivatives. This page — part of the Math symbols hub — collects them in one place, with the typing method for each platform. It also covers something most symbol sites get wrong: several of these characters have two code points, and picking the wrong one causes real problems in search, spreadsheets and code.
Quick reference
| Symbol | Physics meaning | Windows | HTML | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| λ | Wavelength | 3BB + Alt + X | λ | U+03BB |
| ν | Frequency | 3BD + Alt + X | ν | U+03BD |
| ω | Angular velocity | 3C9 + Alt + X | ω | U+03C9 |
| Ω | Ohms / solid angle | Alt + 234 | Ω | U+03A9 |
| μ | Coefficient / muon | 3BC + Alt + X | μ | U+03BC |
| µ | Micro- prefix (µm) | Alt + 0181 | µ | U+00B5 |
| Å | Angstrom | Alt + 0197 | Å | U+00C5 |
| ° | Degrees | Alt + 0176 | ° | U+00B0 |
| ∆ | Change (∆T, ∆x) | 2206 + Alt + X | ∆ | U+2206 |
| ∂ | Partial derivative | 2202 + Alt + X | ∂ | U+2202 |
| ℏ | Reduced Planck constant | 210F + Alt + X | ℏ | U+210F |
The lookalike traps — get the code point right
This is where physics symbols differ from ordinary ones. Several have near-identical twins, and the difference matters the moment your text is searched, sorted or parsed.
ℏ vs ħ. The reduced Planck constant is ℏ (U+210F) — its official Unicode name is literally PLANCK CONSTANT OVER TWO PI. The lookalike ħ (U+0127) is a Latin letter used in Maltese. In a paper or a slide they can render almost identically, but search treats them as different characters, and screen readers announce ħ as a letter, not a constant. Use ℏ.
Å vs the angstrom sign. Unicode contains a separate ANGSTROM SIGN (U+212B) — and you should not use it. The standard normalizes it away: any text run through standard Unicode normalization converts U+212B into the ordinary Swedish letter Å (U+00C5), which is the character Unicode recommends for angstroms. Some symbol pickers still offer U+212B; it will silently turn into U+00C5 in many pipelines, so start with U+00C5 and nothing changes behind your back.
Ω vs the ohm sign. Same story: OHM SIGN (U+2126) exists but normalizes to the Greek capital omega Ω (U+03A9), which is the recommended character for ohms. Everything on this page — and the dedicated omega guide — uses U+03A9.
μ vs µ. Greek small mu μ (U+03BC) is the letter you want for the coefficient of friction or the muon. The micro sign µ (U+00B5) is a legacy character for the µ- prefix (µm, µs). Windows Alt codes only reach the micro sign — both Alt + 230 and Alt + 0181 produce µ, not Greek μ — and in HTML, μ is Greek while µ is the prefix. They usually look the same; they aren’t. (More in the mu guide.)
∆ vs Δ vs ∂. Three different characters: ∆ (U+2206, INCREMENT) is the math operator for change (∆T); Δ (U+0394) is the Greek capital letter; ∂ (U+2202) is the partial derivative. The Mac’s Option + J produces the increment ∆, and most fonts draw ∆ and Δ identically — which is exactly why copy-pasted equations end up with a mix of both. Pick one per document; for physics notation, the increment ∆ is the semantically correct choice. (Full treatment: the delta guide and calculus symbols.)
Windows
For Ω, µ, Å and °, real Alt codes exist — Num Lock on, hold Alt, type on the numeric keypad:
- Alt + 234 → Ω and Alt + 230 → µ. No leading zero — these come from the old CP437 table, where IBM packed Greek letters into the extended range.
- Alt + 0197 → Å and Alt + 0176 → °. With the leading zero — these come from Windows-1252. (Å and ° are among the few characters both tables contain: Alt + 143 and Alt + 248 give the same results.)
Everything else — λ ν ω μ ∆ ∂ ℏ — has no Alt code. Use Win + . → the Symbols tab and search by name, or the hex + Alt + X trick in Word (next section). If a code gives you the wrong character entirely, see why Alt codes don’t work.
Mac
The verified Option shortcuts on a US layout: Option + Z → Ω · Option + M → µ · Shift + Option + 8 → ° · Option + A → å, Shift + Option + A → Å · Option + J → ∆ · Option + D → ∂.
For the Greek letters (λ ν ω μ) and ℏ there is no Option shortcut. Press Control + Command + Space for the Character Viewer and search by name (“lambda”, “planck”), or — if you type Greek letters daily — add the Greek input source in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources and switch to it with the globe key: λ sits on L, ν on N, ω on V.
Word, Google Docs and LaTeX
Microsoft Word is the best plain-typing environment for physics notation because of hex + Alt + X: type the code, press Alt + X, and it becomes the character. 3BB → λ, 3BD → ν, 3C9 → ω, 3A9 → Ω, 3BC → μ, 2206 → ∆, 2202 → ∂, 210F → ℏ. It works in the reverse direction too — put the cursor after any mystery character and press Alt + X to reveal its code point.
Google Docs: Insert → Special characters, then search by name — or draw the shape in the sketch box, which works surprisingly well for ∂ and Ω.
LaTeX is where physics actually lives, so the commands belong here: \lambda \nu \omega \Omega \mu \Delta \partial \hbar — and degrees as ^\circ (so 90^\circ). For Å in math mode use \text{\AA} (or \mathring{A}). \hbar is the canonical ℏ; there is no reason to paste the Unicode character into LaTeX source. Full command reference: LaTeX math symbols.
Chromebook / Linux: Ctrl + Shift + U, then the hex, then Enter — 210f → ℏ, 3bb → λ.
HTML and code
For the web, named entities exist for most of the set: λ ν ω Ω μ µ Å ° ∂ — and ℏ has two names, ℏ and ℏ, both resolving to U+210F. The increment ∆ has no name; use ∆. Remember the μ split from above: μ is the Greek letter, µ is the prefix character.
In source code, prefer escape sequences over pasted glyphs so the lookalikes can’t hide: "\u03bc" versus "\u00b5" is visible in review; μ versus µ is not.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Alt + 234 gives a different character | Num Lock off, top-row numbers used, or a non-US legacy codepage. Use the keypad — or the hex + Alt + X route in Word, which ignores codepages entirely. |
| Searching my document for μ misses half the instances | The document mixes Greek μ (U+03BC) and micro µ (U+00B5). Search for both, then standardize on one. |
| My angstrom character changed after saving | Your pipeline normalized ANGSTROM SIGN (U+212B) to Å (U+00C5). Nothing is broken — U+00C5 is the recommended character. Use it from the start. |
| ∆ and Δ look identical but compare as different | They are different code points (U+2206 vs U+0394). Pick one per document; Alt + X after the character reveals which one you have. |
| ℏ shows as a box ▯ | The font lacks U+210F — it’s missing from several common fonts. Switch to Cambria, STIX or another math-aware font. More: symbol showing as a box. |
| Symbols paste fine but read wrongly in a screen reader | Lookalike code points: ħ reads as a letter, not h-bar. Use the semantically correct characters from the quick reference. More: how screen readers handle symbols. |
Recap
- One-off symbol → copy it from the tool at the top.
- Typing in Word → hex + Alt + X (
210F→ ℏ,3BB→ λ,2206→ ∆). - Ohms, micro, angstrom, degrees on Windows → Alt + 234 / 0181 / 0197 / 0176.
- Writing a paper → LaTeX commands (
\hbar,\lambda,^\circ), not pasted glyphs. - Always U+00C5 for Å, U+03A9 for Ω, ℏ not ħ, and pick your delta deliberately.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ħ and ℏ (h-bar)?
ℏ (U+210F) is the reduced Planck constant — its official Unicode name is PLANCK CONSTANT OVER TWO PI. ħ (U+0127) is a Latin letter with a stroke, used in the Maltese alphabet. They look similar in many fonts, but search engines, screen readers and code treat them as completely different characters. For physics, always use ℏ.
Should I use Å or the angstrom sign for angstroms?
Use the ordinary letter Å (U+00C5). Unicode includes a separate ANGSTROM SIGN (U+212B), but the standard normalizes it to U+00C5, and U+00C5 is the recommended character. Text containing U+212B is silently converted to U+00C5 by many tools, so starting with U+00C5 avoids surprises.
What is the difference between ∆, Δ and ∂?
∆ (U+2206) is the increment operator used for change, as in ∆T. Δ (U+0394) is the Greek capital letter delta. ∂ (U+2202) is the partial derivative symbol. Most fonts draw ∆ and Δ identically, but they are different characters — pick one per document so search and comparisons behave.
What is the difference between μ and µ (micro sign)?
μ (U+03BC) is the Greek small letter mu, used for quantities like the coefficient of friction. µ (U+00B5) is the legacy micro sign for the µ- prefix in units like µm. Windows Alt codes (Alt + 230 and Alt + 0181) both produce the micro sign, and in HTML μ is the Greek letter while µ is the prefix character.
How do you type physics symbols in Word?
Type the Unicode hex code and press Alt + X: 3BB becomes λ, 3BD becomes ν, 3C9 becomes ω, 3A9 becomes Ω, 2206 becomes ∆, 2202 becomes ∂, and 210F becomes ℏ. It also works in reverse — press Alt + X immediately after any character to reveal its code point.
Why does the ohm symbol Ω have two code points?
Unicode inherited a separate OHM SIGN (U+2126) from older character sets, but it normalizes to the Greek capital omega Ω (U+03A9), which is the recommended character for ohms. Use U+03A9 — text containing U+2126 is converted to it by standard normalization anyway.
Written by Igor R.. Tested on Windows 11, macOS, Word, Google Docs and LaTeX. Last updated September 2026. Symbol code points follow the Unicode Standard.