Concept
Symmetry group
Related concepts (36)
Dihedral group of order 6
In mathematics, D3 (sometimes alternatively denoted by D6) is the dihedral group of degree 3 and order 6. It equals the symmetric group S3. It is also the smallest non-abelian group. This page illustrates many group concepts using this group as example. The dihedral group D3 is the symmetry group of an equilateral triangle, that is, it is the set of all transformations such as reflection, rotation, and combinations of these, that leave the shape and position of this triangle fixed.
Screw axis
A screw axis (helical axis or twist axis) is a line that is simultaneously the axis of rotation and the line along which translation of a body occurs. Chasles' theorem shows that each Euclidean displacement in three-dimensional space has a screw axis, and the displacement can be decomposed into a rotation about and a slide along this screw axis. Plücker coordinates are used to locate a screw axis in space, and consist of a pair of three-dimensional vectors. The first vector identifies the direction of the axis, and the second locates its position.
Frieze group
In mathematics, a frieze or frieze pattern is a two-dimensional design that repeats in one direction. Such patterns occur frequently in architecture and decorative art. Frieze patterns can be classified into seven types according to their symmetries. The set of symmetries of a frieze pattern is called a frieze group. Frieze groups are two-dimensional line groups, having repetition in only one direction. They are related to the more complex wallpaper groups, which classify patterns that are repetitive in two directions, and crystallographic groups, which classify patterns that are repetitive in three directions.
Felix Klein
Christian Felix Klein (klaɪn; 25 April 1849 – 22 June 1925) was a German mathematician and mathematics educator, known for his work with group theory, complex analysis, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the associations between geometry and group theory. His 1872 Erlangen program, classifying geometries by their basic symmetry groups, was an influential synthesis of much of the mathematics of the time. Felix Klein was born on 25 April 1849 in Düsseldorf, to Prussian parents.
Crystallographic point group
In crystallography, a crystallographic point group is a set of symmetry operations, corresponding to one of the point groups in three dimensions, such that each operation (perhaps followed by a translation) would leave the structure of a crystal unchanged i.e. the same kinds of atoms would be placed in similar positions as before the transformation.
Chirality (mathematics)
In geometry, a figure is chiral (and said to have chirality) if it is not identical to its , or, more precisely, if it cannot be mapped to its mirror image by rotations and translations alone. An object that is not chiral is said to be achiral. A chiral object and its mirror image are said to be enantiomorphs. The word chirality is derived from the Greek χείρ (cheir), the hand, the most familiar chiral object; the word enantiomorph stems from the Greek ἐναντίος (enantios) 'opposite' + μορφή (morphe) 'form'.
Examples of groups
Some elementary examples of groups in mathematics are given on Group (mathematics). Further examples are listed here. Dihedral group of order 6 Consider three colored blocks (red, green, and blue), initially placed in the order RGB. Let a be the operation "swap the first block and the second block", and b be the operation "swap the second block and the third block". We can write xy for the operation "first do y, then do x"; so that ab is the operation RGB → RBG → BRG, which could be described as "move the first two blocks one position to the right and put the third block into the first position".
Cayley's theorem
In group theory, Cayley's theorem, named in honour of Arthur Cayley, states that every group G is isomorphic to a subgroup of a symmetric group. More specifically, G is isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetric group whose elements are the permutations of the underlying set of G. Explicitly, for each , the left-multiplication-by-g map sending each element x to gx is a permutation of G, and the map sending each element g to is an injective homomorphism, so it defines an isomorphism from G onto a subgroup of .
Cycle graph (algebra)
In group theory, a subfield of abstract algebra, a group cycle graph illustrates the various cycles of a group and is particularly useful in visualizing the structure of small finite groups. A cycle is the set of powers of a given group element a, where an, the n-th power of an element a is defined as the product of a multiplied by itself n times. The element a is said to generate the cycle. In a finite group, some non-zero power of a must be the group identity, e; the lowest such power is the order of the cycle, the number of distinct elements in it.
Continuous symmetry
In mathematics, continuous symmetry is an intuitive idea corresponding to the concept of viewing some symmetries as motions, as opposed to discrete symmetry, e.g. reflection symmetry, which is invariant under a kind of flip from one state to another. However, a discrete symmetry can always be reinterpreted as a subset of some higher-dimensional continuous symmetry, e.g. reflection of a 2 dimensional object in 3 dimensional space can be achieved by continuously rotating that object 180 degrees across a non-parallel plane.