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Omega (Ω ω) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system it had a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" (ō mega, mega meaning 'great'), as opposed to Omicron, which means "little O" (o mikron, micron meaning 'little'). This name is Byzantine; in Classical Greek, the letter was called ō (), whereas the Omicron was called ou (). The form of the letter derives from a double omicron, which came to be written open at the top. Phonetically, the Ancient Greek Ω is a long o, similar to the vowel of English close. It is transcribed ō or simply o. In Modern Greek Ω is a short o similar to the vowel of British English pot. The Omega symbol is now to be represented as one on the six numbers that formulate the universe founded by Martin J. Rees.The cosmic number omega measures the amount of material in our Universe - galaxies, diffuse gas, and 'dark matter'. Omega tells us the relative importance of gravity and expansion energy in the Universe. A universe within which omega was too high would have collapsed long ago; had omega been too low, no galaxies would have formed. The inflationary theory of the Big Bang says omega should be one; astronomers have yet to measure its exact value. Omega is often used to denote the last, the end, or the ultimate limit of a set, in contrast to Alpha, the first letter of the Greek Alphabet. In the Bible, Jesus declares himself to be the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last". Omega was also adopted into the early Cyrillic alphabet. See omega (Cyrillic) (Ѡ, ѡ). A Raetic variant is at the origin of Elder Futhark ᛟ.
The symbol Ω (upper case letter) The upper-case letter Ω is used as a symbol, it is also used often outside its Greek alphabetical context in literature, advertising and other forms of human expression. The symbol ω (lower-case letter) The lower-case letter ω is used as a symbol: Notes | ||||||||
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