Compound of six tetrahedra with rotational freedom

Compound of six tetrahedra with rotational freedom
TypeUniform compound
IndexUC1
Polyhedra6 tetrahedra
Faces24 triangles
Edges36
Vertices24
Symmetry grouptetrahedral (Td)
Subgroup restricting to one constituent4-fold improper rotation (S4)

This uniform polyhedron compound is a symmetric arrangement of 6 tetrahedra, considered as antiprisms. It can be constructed by superimposing six tetrahedra within a cube, and then rotating them in pairs about the three axes that pass through the centres of two opposite cubic faces. Each tetrahedron is rotated by an equal (and opposite, within a pair) angle θ. Equivalently, a tetrahedron may be inscribed within each cube in the compound of six cubes with rotational freedom, in such a way as to preserve tetrahedral symmetry.

When θ=0, all six tetrahedra coincide. When θ is 45 degrees, the more symmetric compound of six tetrahedra (without rotational freedom) arises.

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