Cubic honeycomb
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Cubic honeycomb | |
---|---|
Type | Regular honeycomb |
Schläfli symbol | {4,3,4} t0,3{4,3,4} {4,4} x {∞} {∞} x {∞} x {∞} |
Coxeter-Dynkin diagram | |
Cell type | {4,3} |
Face type | {4} |
Vertex figure | 8 {4,3} (octahedron) |
Cells/edge | {4,3}4 |
Faces/edge | 44 |
Cells/vertex | {4,3}8 |
Faces/vertex | 412 |
Edges/vertex | 6 |
Euler characteristic | 0 |
Symmetry group | group [4,3,4] |
Dual | self-dual |
Properties | vertex-transitive |
The cubic honeycomb is the only regular space-filling tessellation (or honeycomb) in Euclidean 3-space. It is an analog of the square tiling of the plane.
It is one of 28 uniform honeycombs using regular and semiregular polyhedral cells.
Four cubes exist on each edge, and 8 cubes around each vertex. It is a self-dual tessellation.
It is related to the regular tesseract which exists in 4-space with 3 cubes on each edge.
Contents |
[edit] Uniform colorings
There is a large number of uniform colorings, derived from different symmetries. Some of the reflective symmetries include:
Coxeter-Dynkin diagram | Partial honeycomb |
Colors by letters |
---|---|---|
1: aaaa/aaaa | ||
2: aaaa/bbbb | ||
2: abba/abba | ||
2: abba/baab | ||
4: abcd/abcd | ||
4: abbcbccd | ||
8: abcd/efgh |
[edit] Related tessellations
[edit] Hypercube tessellations
The cubic honeycomb is part of a dimensional family of regular honeycombs with the Schläfli symbols {4,3...3,4}, constructed from 4 n-hypercubes per ridge. The vertex figure for every honeycomb is a cross-polytope {3...3,4}.
These are also named as - δn for an (n-1)-dimensional honeycomb.
- Apeirogon {∞} - δ2 -
- Square tiling {4,4} - δ3 - four squares/vertex. =
- Cubic honeycomb {4,3,4} - δ4 - four cubes/edge. =
- Tesseractic tetracomb {4,3,3,4} - δ5 - four tesseracts/face. =
- Penteractic pentacomb {4,3,3,3,4} - δ6 - four penteracts/cell. =
- ...
[edit] Alternated hypercube tessellations
A second infinite family is based on an alternation of the regular family, given a Schläfli symbols h{4,3...3,4} representing the regular form with half the vertices removed. The hypercube facets become demihypercubes, and the deleted vertices create new cross-polytope facets. The vertex figure for honeycombs of this family are rectified hypercubes.
These are also named as - hδn for an (n-1)-dimensional honeycomb.
- Alternated square tiling - hδ3 - h{4,4} - square faces alternate into edges, deleted vertices become new squares. (Same as regular square tiling {4,4})
- Alternated cubic honeycomb - hδ4 - h{4,3,4} - Cube cells alternate into tetrahedra, deleted vertices become octahedra.
- Alternated tesseractic tetracomb or demitesseractic tetracomb- hδ5 - h{4,3,3,4} - Tesseracts alternate into 16-cells and deleted vertices also become 16-cells. (Same as regular {3,3,4,3})
- Demipenteractic pentacomb - hδ6 - h{4,3,3,3,4} - penteract alternate into demipenteracts and deleted vertices form pentacrosses.
- ...
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Coxeter, H.S.M. Regular Polytopes, (3rd edition, 1973), Dover edition, ISBN 0-486-61480-8 p.296, Table II: Regular honeycombs