Beta different from В
Mathematics and science
Beta is often used to denote a variable in mathematics and physics, where it often has specific meanings for certain applications. In physics a stream of unbound energetic electrons is commonly referred to as beta radiation or beta rays. Decays producing electrons or their antiparticles are called beta decays. In regression analysis, ⟨B⟩ symbolizes nonstandardized partial slope coefficients, whereas ⟨β⟩ represents standardized (standard deviation-score form) coefficients; in both cases, the coefficients reflect the change in the criterion Y per one-unit change in the value of the associated predictor X. β is also used in biology, for instance in β-Carotene, a primary source of provitamin A, or the β cells in pancreatic islets, which produce insulin.
β is sometimes used as a placeholder for an ordinal number if α is already used. For example, the two roots of a quadratic equation are typically labelled α and β.
In spaceflight, beta angle describes the angle between the orbit plane of a spacecraft or other body and the vector from the sun.
β is sometimes used to mean the proton-to-electron mass ratio.
The uppercase letter beta is not generally used as a symbol because it tends to be rendered identically to the uppercase Latin B.