Regular Polytopes (book)Regular Polytopes is a geometry book on regular polytopes written by Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter. It was originally published by Methuen in 1947 and by Pitman Publishing in 1948, with a second edition published by Macmillan in 1963 and a third edition by Dover Publications in 1973. The Basic Library List Committee of the Mathematical Association of America has recommended that it be included in undergraduate mathematics libraries. The main topics of the book are the Platonic solids (regular convex polyhedra), related polyhedra, and their higher-dimensional generalizations.
Simplicial polytopeIn geometry, a simplicial polytope is a polytope whose facets are all simplices. For example, a simplicial polyhedron in three dimensions contains only triangular faces and corresponds via Steinitz's theorem to a maximal planar graph. They are topologically dual to simple polytopes. Polytopes which are both simple and simplicial are either simplices or two-dimensional polygons. Simplicial polyhedra include: Bipyramids Gyroelongated dipyramids Deltahedra (equilateral triangles) Platonic tetrahedron, octahed
FrustumIn geometry, a frustum; (: frusta or frustums) is the portion of a solid (normally a pyramid or a cone) that lies between two parallel planes cutting this solid. In the case of a pyramid, the base faces are polygonal and the side faces are trapezoidal. A right frustum is a right pyramid or a right cone truncated perpendicularly to its axis; otherwise, it is an oblique frustum. If all its edges are forced to become of the same length, then a frustum becomes a prism (possibly oblique or/and with irregular bases).
Net (polyhedron)In geometry, a net of a polyhedron is an arrangement of non-overlapping edge-joined polygons in the plane which can be folded (along edges) to become the faces of the polyhedron. Polyhedral nets are a useful aid to the study of polyhedra and solid geometry in general, as they allow for physical models of polyhedra to be constructed from material such as thin cardboard.
Angular defectIn geometry, the (angular) defect (or deficit or deficiency) means the failure of some angles to add up to the expected amount of 360° or 180°, when such angles in the Euclidean plane would. The opposite notion is the excess. Classically the defect arises in two ways: the defect of a vertex of a polyhedron; the defect of a hyperbolic triangle; and the excess also arises in two ways: the excess of a toroidal polyhedron.
RhombohedronIn geometry, a rhombohedron (also called a rhombic hexahedron or, inaccurately, a rhomboid) is a three-dimensional figure with six faces which are rhombi. It is a special case of a parallelepiped where all edges are the same length. It can be used to define the rhombohedral lattice system, a honeycomb with rhombohedral cells. A cube is a special case of a rhombohedron with all sides square. In general a rhombohedron can have up to three types of rhombic faces in congruent opposite pairs, Ci symmetry, order 2.
Schläfli orthoschemeIn geometry, a Schläfli orthoscheme is a type of simplex. The orthoscheme is the generalization of the right triangle to simplex figures of any number of dimensions. Orthoschemes are defined by a sequence of edges that are mutually orthogonal. They were introduced by Ludwig Schläfli, who called them orthoschemes and studied their volume in Euclidean, hyperbolic, and spherical geometries. H. S. M. Coxeter later named them after Schläfli.
Hyperoctahedral groupIn mathematics, a hyperoctahedral group is an important type of group that can be realized as the group of symmetries of a hypercube or of a cross-polytope. It was named by Alfred Young in 1930. Groups of this type are identified by a parameter n, the dimension of the hypercube. As a Coxeter group it is of type B_n = C_n, and as a Weyl group it is associated to the symplectic groups and with the orthogonal groups in odd dimensions. As a wreath product it is where S_n is the symmetric group of degree n.
Space frameIn architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure (3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports. Like the truss, a space frame is strong because of the inherent rigidity of the triangle; flexing loads (bending moments) are transmitted as tension and compression loads along the length of each strut. Chief applications include buildings and vehicles.
Disdyakis dodecahedronIn geometry, a disdyakis dodecahedron, (also hexoctahedron, hexakis octahedron, octakis cube, octakis hexahedron, kisrhombic dodecahedron), is a Catalan solid with 48 faces and the dual to the Archimedean truncated cuboctahedron. As such it is face-transitive but with irregular face polygons. It resembles an augmented rhombic dodecahedron. Replacing each face of the rhombic dodecahedron with a flat pyramid creates a polyhedron that looks almost like the disdyakis dodecahedron, and is topologically equivalent to it.
