We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
An italic capital Q, how slowly an oscillator loses energy.
Also known as: Q factor, Quality factor, Resonance sharpness
Q counts how many radians of oscillation pass before the stored energy falls appreciably: a high Q means a sharp resonance and a long ring. A wine glass has a Q of a few thousand; an atomic clock's resonator can reach a billion.
Denotes the quality factor: 2π times the energy stored divided by the energy lost per cycle.
Contexts: Laboratory
Sets the sharpness of a resonance: the bandwidth of a resonant peak is its centre frequency divided by Q.
Contexts: Laboratory
Collides with electric charge and with heat, both also written Q.
Contexts: Laboratory
An italic capital letter Q, a circle with a short diagonal tail crossing its lower right.