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Tau (uppercase ?, lowercase t; [taf]) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet

The Greek alphabet is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th century BC or early 8th century BCE....
. In the system of Greek numerals
Greek numerals

Greek numerals are a numeral system using letters of the Greek alphabet. They are also known by the names Milesian numerals, Alexandrian numerals, or alphabetic numerals....
 it has a value of 300. This letter in English is pronounced , but in Modern Greek
Modern Greek

Modern Greek refers the varieties of Greek spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic modern features of the language had been present centuries earli...
, this letter's name is pronounced . This is because the pronunciation of the combination of Greek letters a? has changed from ancient to modern times from one of to either or (see Greek orthography
Greek orthography

The orthography of the Greek language ultimately has its roots in the adoption of the Greek alphabet in the 9th century BC. Some time prior to that, one early form of Greek, Mycenaean, was written in Linear B, although there was a lapse of several centuries between the time Mycenaean stopped being written and the time when the Greek alphabet came...
).

Letters that arose from tau include Roman T
T

T is the twentieth letter in the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English language is spelled tee . It is the most commonly used consonant and the second most common letter in the English language....
 and Cyrillic Te
Te (Cyrillic)

eading=Cyrillic letter Te|Image=...
 (?, ?).

The symbolism of the cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
 was connected not only to the letter chi
Chi (letter)

Chi is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced as [kai] in English. Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated voiceless velar plosive ....
, but also to tau, the equivalent of the last letter in the Phoenician
Phoenician alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BC. It was used for the writing of Phoenician language, a Northern Semitic languages language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia....
 and Old Hebrew alphabets, and which was originally cruciform in shape.





Miscellaneous
An essay written around 160 AD, attributed to Lucian
Lucian

Lucian of Samosata was an Assyrian people rhetorician, and satire who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature....
, a mock legal prosecution called The Consonants at Law — Sigma v. Tau in the Court of Seven Vowels contains a reference to the attribution.






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Tau (uppercase ?, lowercase t; [taf]) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet

The Greek alphabet is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th century BC or early 8th century BCE....
. In the system of Greek numerals
Greek numerals

Greek numerals are a numeral system using letters of the Greek alphabet. They are also known by the names Milesian numerals, Alexandrian numerals, or alphabetic numerals....
 it has a value of 300. This letter in English is pronounced , but in Modern Greek
Modern Greek

Modern Greek refers the varieties of Greek spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic modern features of the language had been present centuries earli...
, this letter's name is pronounced . This is because the pronunciation of the combination of Greek letters a? has changed from ancient to modern times from one of to either or (see Greek orthography
Greek orthography

The orthography of the Greek language ultimately has its roots in the adoption of the Greek alphabet in the 9th century BC. Some time prior to that, one early form of Greek, Mycenaean, was written in Linear B, although there was a lapse of several centuries between the time Mycenaean stopped being written and the time when the Greek alphabet came...
).

Letters that arose from tau include Roman T
T

T is the twentieth letter in the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English language is spelled tee . It is the most commonly used consonant and the second most common letter in the English language....
 and Cyrillic Te
Te (Cyrillic)

eading=Cyrillic letter Te|Image=...
 (?, ?).

The symbolism of the cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
 was connected not only to the letter chi
Chi (letter)

Chi is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced as [kai] in English. Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated voiceless velar plosive ....
, but also to tau, the equivalent of the last letter in the Phoenician
Phoenician alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BC. It was used for the writing of Phoenician language, a Northern Semitic languages language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia....
 and Old Hebrew alphabets, and which was originally cruciform in shape.

Scientific uses


The lower-case letter t is used as a symbol for:
  • The perceived motion-gap in General Tau Theory
    General Tau Theory

    Origin A theory of perceptuomotor control based on the ecological invariant, tau. The theory was developed from work on J.J. Gibson's notion of ecological invariants in the visual flow-field during a perception-in-action event, and subsequently generalised in the late 1990s to a ubiquitous, amodal theory of perceptuomotor control, General Ta...
    , a psychological principle of perception.
  • Torque
    Torque

    Torque is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis . Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
    , the rotational force in mechanics
    Mechanics

    Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical body when subjected to forces or Displacement , and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment....
    .
  • Tuning and Analysis Utilities (TAU) performance evaluation tool, computer science
  • The elementary tau lepton
    Tau lepton

    The tauon is a negatively charged elementary particle with a lifetime of and a mass of . It has an associated antimatter and neutrinos ....
     particle in particle physics
    Particle physics

    Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the elementary particle constituents of matter and radiation, and the interactions between them....
    .
  • The lifetime of a spontaneous emission
    Spontaneous emission

    Spontaneous emission is the process by which a light source such as an atom, molecule, nanocrystal or atomic nucleus in an excited state undergoes a transition to the ground state and emits a photon....
     process.
  • The time constant
    Time constant

    In physics and engineering, the time constant usually denoted by the Greek language letter , , characterizes the frequency response of a first-order, LTI system theory system....
     of any device, such as an RC circuit
    RC circuit

    A 'resistor?capacitor circuit' , or 'RC filter' or 'RC network', is an electric circuit composed of resistors and capacitors driven by a voltage source or current source....
    .
  • Proper time
    Proper time

    In theory of relativity, proper time is time measured by a single clock between events that occur at the same place as the clock. It depends not only on the events but also on the motion of the clock between the events....
     in relativity
    Theory of relativity

    File:spacetime curvature.pngThe theory of relativity, or simply relativity, generally refers specifically to two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity....
    .
  • The symbol of continuity in electro-flux resonance.
  • A coefficient of correlation — see Kendall's tau.
  • The Golden ratio
    Golden ratio

    In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller....
     1.618... (although f
    Phi (letter)

    Phi , pronounced [] in Modern Greek language and as [] in English, is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In modern Greek, it represents [], a voiceless labiodental fricative....
     (phi) is more common)
  • Ramanujan's tau function in number theory
    Number theory

    Number theory is the branch of pure mathematics concerned with the properties of numbers in general, and integers in particular, as well as the wider classes of problems that arise from their study....
    .
  • Tau in astronomy
    Astronomy

    Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
     is a measure of opacity
    Opacity (optics)

    Opacity is the measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic radiation or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light. In radiative transfer, it describes the absorption and scattering of radiation in a medium, such as a plasma, dielectric, radiation shield, glass, etc....
    , or how much sunlight cannot penetrate the atmosphere.
  • Tau in biochemistry
    Biochemistry

    Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules....
     is a protein
    Protein

    Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
     associated with microtubule
    Microtubule

    Microtubules are one of the components of the cytoskeleton. They have a diameter of 25 Nanometre and length varying from 200 nanometers to 25 micrometers....
    s.
  • Shear
    Shear stress

    File:Shear stress.JPGA shear stress, denoted , is defined as a stress which is applied parallel or tangent to a face of a material, as opposed to a normal stress which is applied perpendicularly....
     stress
    Stress (physics)

    In continuum mechanics, stress is a measure of the average amount of force exerted per unit area. It is a measure of the intensity of the total internal forces acting within a body across imaginary internal surfaces, as a reaction to external applied forces and body forces....
     in continuum mechanics
    Continuum mechanics

    Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the analysis of the kinematics and mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuum, e.g., solids and fluids ....
    .
  • Divisor function
    Divisor function

    In mathematics, and specifically in number theory, a divisor function is an arithmetical function related to the divisors of an integer. When referred to as the divisor function, it counts the number of divisors of an integer....
     in number theory.
  • Sequence in the OEIS: Number of divisors of highly composite numbers
  • The prefix of many stars, via the Bayer
    Bayer designation

    A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek alphabet, followed by the genitive case form of its parent constellation's Latin language name....
     stellar designation system. (Tau Ceti
    Tau Ceti

    Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is similar to the Sun in mass and Stellar classification. At just under 12 light years' distance from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star....
     is such a star.)
  • The expressed period of the freerunning rhythm of an animal (circadian rhythm terminology). I.e., the length of the daily cycle of an animal when kept in constant light or constant darkness (In humans this is ~24hrs).


Other uses

  • In ancient times, a symbol for life
    Life

    Life is a characteristic of organisms that exhibit certain biological processes such as chemical reactions or other events that results in a transformation....
     and/or resurrection
    Resurrection

    Miraculous resurrection of one sort or another has been a recurrent theme or central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and other Abrahamic religions....
    , whereas the 8th letter of the Greek alphabet, theta
    Theta

    Theta is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 9....
    , was considered the symbol of death
    Death

    Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a life organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby....
    .
  • In Biblical times, the Taw
    Taw

    Taw may refer to:* Taw , the twenty-second letter in many Semitic alphabets* the shooter marble in a game of marbles* The River Taw in Devon, England...
     was put on men to distinguish those who lamented sin, although newer versions of the Bible have replaced the ancient term “Taw” with "mark" (Ezekiel 9:4) or "signature" (Job 31:35). Its original sound value is a voiceless alveolar plosive
    Voiceless alveolar plosive

    The voiceless alveolar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiceless dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant stop consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is t....
    , IPA /t/,


  • Tau is usually considered as the symbol of Franciscan
    Franciscan

    The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St....
     orders due to St. Francis' love for it, symbol of the redemption and of the Cross
    Cross

    A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
    . Almost all Franciscan churches have painted a tau with two crossing arms, both with stigmata
    Stigmata

    Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus. The term originates from the line at the end of Paul of Tarsus's Letter to the Galatians where he says, "I bear on my body the st?gmata of Jesus" - stigmata is the plural of the Greek_language word st???a, st?gma,...
    , the one of Jesus and the other of Francis; usually members of the Secular Franciscan Order
    Franciscan

    The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St....
     wear a wooden t in a string with three knots around the neck.
  • Tau mission
    TAU mission

    The TAU mission would be the name of a proposed unmanned space probe to a distance of one-thousand astronomical units from the Earth and Sun. One scientific purpose would be to measure the distance to other stars via stellar parallax....
    , a proposal to send a space probe to a thousand astronomical units from the Earth and Sun.
  • The Tau Empire, one of the playable races in Warhammer 40K universe.
  • In Freelancer
    Freelancer (computer game)

    Freelancer is a Space flight simulator game video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was initially announced by Chris Roberts in 1999, and following many production schedule mishaps and a buyout of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, it was eventually released in March 2003....
    , the Tau systems make up much of the Border Worlds.
  • Surname for Chinese family
  • Hyundai Motors uses "Tau" to identify their recently introduced V8 engine.
  • In Mobile Suit Gundam 00
    Mobile Suit Gundam 00

    is the latest television anime of Sunrise long-running Gundam franchise.It is directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Yosuke Kuroda, and features character designs by Yun Koga....
    , imitation-solar furnaces used to power the three Throne Gundams and later the United Nations' GN-X and Alvatore are referred to as GN Drives Tau
    List of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 technology

    This is a list of fictitious technological terminology from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 00....
    , as opposed to the original drives used by Celestial Being.


Miscellaneous


An essay written around 160 AD, attributed to Lucian
Lucian

Lucian of Samosata was an Assyrian people rhetorician, and satire who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature....
, a mock legal prosecution called The Consonants at Law — Sigma v. Tau in the Court of Seven Vowels contains a reference to the attribution. Sigma petitions the court to sentence Tau to death by crucifixion, saying:
Men weep, and bewail their lot, and curse Cadmus with many curses for introducing Tau into the family of letters; they say it was his body that tyrants took for a model, his shape that they imitated, when they set up structures on which men are crucified. Stauros (cross) the vile engine is called, and it derives its vile name from him. Now, with all these crimes upon him, does he not deserve death, nay, many deaths? For my part I know none bad enough but that supplied by his own shape — that shape which he gave to the gibbet
Gibbet

A gibbet is any of several different devices used in the public execution of Crime and the deterrence of future crime. When used as a verb, gibbeting refers to the public display of executed criminals....
 named stauros after him by men.