Greek Small Letter Alpha α

The Greek Small Letter Alpha character (α) is a standard HTML entity defined in the HTML specification. In HTML source code, it can be written using the named entity reference α, the decimal numeric character reference α, or the hexadecimal numeric reference α. The character is assigned Unicode code point U+03B1 in the Universal Character Set.

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and is widely used in science and mathematics. It represents the significance level in statistics, angular acceleration in physics, the fine-structure constant, and alpha particles in nuclear physics. Alpha is also used metaphorically to mean 'first' or 'primary.'

Greek letter entities are indispensable for scientific papers, engineering documentation, statistical analyses, and mathematical content published on the web. From physics equations using alpha and omega to statistical formulas featuring sigma and mu, these entities allow content authors to include Greek characters reliably without requiring specialized fonts or complex Unicode input methods on the keyboard.

When deciding how to encode the Greek Small Letter Alpha character in your HTML documents, the named entity α is generally the most readable choice for developers reviewing or maintaining source code. The decimal form α and hexadecimal form α are equally valid alternatives that work in contexts where named entities may not be supported, or when generating HTML output programmatically from server-side code. All three representations produce identical visual output in every modern web browser.

Use the alpha entity in scientific papers, statistical formulas (α = 0.05), physics equations, and technical documentation. It is one of the most frequently used Greek letters in web content and appears in topics ranging from finance (alpha return) to software testing (alpha release).