Regular polytope

In mathematics, a regular polytope is a polytope whose symmetry group acts transitively on its flags, thus
giving it the highest degree of symmetry. All its elements or j-faces (for all 0 ≤ j ≤ n, where n is the
dimension of the polytope) — cells, faces and so on — are also transitive on the symmetries of the polytope,
and are regular polytopes of dimension ≤ n.

Regular polytopes are the generalized analog in any number of dimensions of regular polygons (for
example, the square or the regular pentagon) and regular polyhedra (for example, the cube). The strong
symmetry of the regular polytopes gives them an aesthetic quality that interests both non-mathematicians
and mathematicians.

Classically, a regular polytope in n dimensions may be defined as having regular facets [(n − 1)-faces] and
regular vertex figures. These two conditions are sufficient to ensure that all faces are alike and all vertices
are alike. Note, however, that this definition does not work for abstract polytopes.

A regular polytope can be represented by a Schläfli symbol of the form {a, b, c, ...., y, z}, with regular facets
as {a, b, c, ..., y}, and regular vertex figures as {b, c, ..., y, z}.

Contents
Classification and description
Schläfli symbols
Duality of the regular polytopes
Regular simplices
Measure polytopes (hypercubes)
Cross polytopes (orthoplexes)
History of discovery
Convex polygons and polyhedra
Star polygons and polyhedra
Higher-dimensional polytopes
Apeirotopes — infinite polytopes
Regular complex polytopes
Abstract polytopes
Regularity of abstract polytopes
Vertex figure of abstract polytopes
Constructions
Polygons
Polyhedra
Higher dimensions
Regular polytopes in nature
See also
References
Notes
 Bibliography
Regular polytope examples
External links

Classification and description

Regular polytopes are classified primarily according
to their dimensionality.

They can be further classified according to

symmetry. For example, the cube and the regular A regular pentagon is a A regular dodecahedron is
octahedron share the same symmetry, as do the polygon, a two-dimensional a polyhedron, a three-
polytope with 5 edges, dimensional polytope, with
regular dodecahedron and icosahedron. Indeed, represented by Schläfli 12 pentagonal faces,
symmetry groups are sometimes named after regular symbol {5}. represented by Schläfli
polytopes, for example the tetrahedral and symbol {5,3}.
icosahedral symmetries.

Three special classes of regular polytope exist in

every dimension:

Regular simplex
Measure polytope (Hypercube)
Cross polytope (Orthoplex)
A regular 120-cell is a 4- A regular cubic honeycomb
In two dimensions, there are infinitely many regular
polytope, a four- is a tessellation, an infinite
polygons. In three and four dimensions, there are dimensional polytope, with three-dimensional polytope,
several more regular polyhedra and 4-polytopes 120 dodecahedral cells, represented by Schläfli
besides these three. In five dimensions and above, represented by Schläfli symbol {4,3,4}.
symbol {5,3,3}. (shown
these are the only ones. See also the list of regular here as a Schlegel
polytopes. diagram)

The idea of a polytope is sometimes generalised to

include related kinds of geometrical object. Some of
these have regular examples, as discussed in the
section on historical discovery below.

Schläfli symbols

A concise symbolic representation for regular

polytopes was developed by Ludwig Schläfli in the
19th Century, and a slightly modified form has
become standard. The notation is best explained by
adding one dimension at a time.

A convex regular polygon having n sides is

denoted by {n}. So an equilateral triangle is
{3}, a square {4}, and so on indefinitely. A
regular star polygon which winds m times The 256 vertices and 1024 edges of an 8-cube can be
around its centre is denoted by the fractional shown in this orthogonal projection (Petrie polygon)
value {n/m}, where n and m are co-prime, so
a regular pentagram is {5/2}.
 A regular polyhedron having faces {n} with p faces joining around a vertex is denoted by {n, p}.
The nine regular polyhedra are {3, 3} {3, 4} {4, 3} {3, 5} {5, 3} {3, 5/2} {5/2, 3} {5, 5/2} and {5/2,
5}. {p} is the vertex figure of the polyhedron.
A regular 4-polytope having cells {n, p} with q cells joining around an edge is denoted by {n, p,
q}. The vertex figure of the 4-polytope is a {p, q}.
A regular 5-polytope is an {n, p, q, r}. And so on.

Duality of the regular polytopes

The dual of a regular polytope is also a regular polytope. The Schläfli symbol for the dual polytope is just
the original symbol written backwards: {3, 3} is self-dual, {3, 4} is dual to {4, 3}, {4, 3, 3} to {3, 3, 4} and
so on.

The vertex figure of a regular polytope is the dual of the dual polytope's facet. For example, the vertex
figure of {3, 3, 4} is {3, 4}, the dual of which is {4, 3} — a cell of {4, 3, 3}.

The measure and cross polytopes in any dimension are dual to each other.

If the Schläfli symbol is palindromic, i.e. reads the same forwards and backwards, then the polyhedron is
self-dual. The self-dual regular polytopes are:

All regular polygons, {a}.

All regular n-simplexes, {3,3,...,3}
The regular 24-cell in 4 dimensions, {3,4,3}.
The great 120-cell ({5,5/2,5}) and grand stellated 120-cell ({5/2,5,5/2}) in 4 dimensions.
All regular n-dimensional cubic honeycombs, {4,3,...,3,4}. These may be treated as infinite
polytopes.
Hyperbolic tilings and honeycombs (tilings {p,p} with p>4 in 2 dimensions, {4,4,4}, {5,3,5}.
{3,5,3}, {6,3,6}, and {3,6,3} in 3 dimensions, {5,3,3,5} in 4 dimensions, and {3,3,4,3,3} in 5
dimensions).

Regular simplices

Begin with a point A. Mark point B at a Graphs of the 1-simplex to 4-simplex.

distance r from it, and join to form a line
segment. Mark point C in a second, orthogonal,
dimension at a distance r from both, and join to
A and B to form an equilateral triangle. Mark
point D in a third, orthogonal, dimension a
distance r from all three, and join to form a Line segment Triangle Tetrahedron Pentachoron
regular tetrahedron. And so on for higher
dimensions.

These are the regular simplices or simplexes.

Their names are, in order of dimensionality:

0. Point
1. Line segment
2. Equilateral triangle (regular trigon)
3. Regular tetrahedron
4. Regular pentachoron or 4-simplex
 5. Regular hexateron or 5-simplex
... An n-simplex has n+1 vertices.

Measure polytopes (hypercubes)

Begin with a point A. Extend a line to point B at distance r, Graphs of the 2-cube to 4-cube.
and join to form a line segment. Extend a second line of length
r, orthogonal to AB, from B to C, and likewise from A to D, to
form a square ABCD. Extend lines of length r respectively
from each corner, orthogonal to both AB and BC (i.e.
upwards). Mark new points E,F,G,H to form the cube
ABCDEFGH. And so on for higher dimensions. Square Cube Tesseract

These are the measure polytopes or hypercubes. Their names

are, in order of dimensionality:

0. Point
1. Line segment
2. Square (regular tetragon)
3. Cube (regular hexahedron)
4. Tesseract (regular octachoron) or 4-cube
5. Penteract (regular decateron) or 5-cube
... An n-cube has 2n vertices.

Cross polytopes (orthoplexes)

Begin with a point O. Extend a line in opposite directions to Graphs of the 2-orthoplex to 4-orthoplex.
points A and B a distance r from O and 2r apart. Draw a line
COD of length 2r, centred on O and orthogonal to AB. Join the
ends to form a square ACBD. Draw a line EOF of the same
length and centered on 'O', orthogonal to AB and CD (i.e.
upwards and downwards). Join the ends to the square to form a
regular octahedron. And so on for higher dimensions. Square Octahedron 16-cell

These are the cross polytopes or orthoplexes. Their names

are, in order of dimensionality:

0. Point
1. Line segment
2. Square (regular tetragon)
3. Regular octahedron
4. Regular hexadecachoron (16-cell) or 4-orthoplex
5. Regular triacontakaiditeron (Pentacross) or 5-orthoplex
... An n-orthoplex has 2n vertices.

History of discovery

Convex polygons and polyhedra

The earliest surviving mathematical treatment of regular polygons and polyhedra comes to us from ancient
Greek mathematicians. The five Platonic solids were known to them. Pythagoras knew of at least three of
them and Theaetetus (c. 417 BC – 369 BC) described all five. Later, Euclid wrote a systematic study of
mathematics, publishing it under the title Elements, which built up a logical theory of geometry and number
theory. His work concluded with mathematical descriptions of the five Platonic solids.

Platonic solids

Tetrahedron Cube Octahedron Dodecahedron Icosahedron

Star polygons and polyhedra

Our understanding remained static for many centuries after Euclid. The subsequent history of the regular
polytopes can be characterised by a gradual broadening of the basic concept, allowing more and more
objects to be considered among their number. Thomas Bradwardine (Bradwardinus) was the first to record a
serious study of star polygons. Various star polyhedra appear in Renaissance art, but it was not until
Johannes Kepler studied the small stellated dodecahedron and the great stellated dodecahedron in 1619 that
he realised these two were regular. Louis Poinsot discovered the great dodecahedron and great icosahedron
in 1809, and Augustin Cauchy proved the list complete in 1812. These polyhedra are known as collectively
as the Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra.

Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra

Small stellated Great stellated

Great dodecahedron Great icosahedron
dodecahedron dodecahedron

Higher-dimensional polytopes

It was not until the 19th century that a Swiss mathematician, Ludwig Schläfli, examined and characterised
the regular polytopes in higher dimensions. His efforts were first published in full in Schläfli (1901), six
years posthumously, although parts of it were published in Schläfli (1855) and Schläfli (1858). Between
1880 and 1900, Schläfli's results were rediscovered independently by at least nine other mathematicians —
see Coxeter (1948, pp. 143–144) for more details. Schläfli called such a figure a "polyschem" (in English,
"polyscheme" or "polyschema"). The term "polytope" was introduced by Reinhold Hoppe, one of Schläfli's
rediscoverers, in 1882, and first used in English by Alicia Boole Stott some twenty years later. The term
"polyhedroids" was also used in earlier literature (Hilbert, 1952).

Coxeter (1948) is probably the most comprehensive printed treatment of Schläfli's and similar results to
date. Schläfli showed that there are six regular convex polytopes in 4 dimensions. Five of them can be seen
as analogous to the Platonic solids: the 4-simplex (or pentachoron) to the tetrahedron, the hypercube (or
tesseract) to the cube, the 4-orthoplex (or hexadecachoron or 16-cell) to the octahedron, the 120-cell to the
dodecahedron, and the 600-cell to the icosahedron. The sixth, the 24-cell, can be seen as a transitional form
between the hypercube and 16-cell, analogous to the way that the
cuboctahedron and the rhombic dodecahedron are transitional forms
between the cube and the octahedron.

In five and more dimensions, there are exactly three regular

polytopes, which correspond to the tetrahedron, cube and
octahedron: these are the regular simplices, measure polytopes and
cross polytopes. Descriptions of these may be found in the List of
regular polytopes. Also of interest are the star regular 4-polytopes,
partially discovered by Schläfli.

By the end of the 19th century, mathematicians such as Arthur

Cayley and Ludwig Schläfli had developed the theory of regular
A 3D projection of a rotating
polytopes in four and higher dimensions, such as the tesseract and
tesseract. This tesseract is initially
the 24-cell.
oriented so that all edges are parallel
to one of the four coordinate space
The latter are difficult (though not impossible) to visualise, but still
axes. The rotation takes place in the
retain the aesthetically pleasing symmetry of their lower-
xw plane.
dimensional cousins. The tesseract contains 8 cubical cells. It
consists of two cubes in parallel hyperplanes with corresponding
vertices cross-connected in such a way that the 8 cross-edges are
equal in length and orthogonal to the 12+12 edges situated on each cube. The corresponding faces of the two
cubes are connected to form the remaining 6 cubical faces of the tesseract. The 24-cell can be derived from
the tesseract by joining the 8 vertices of each of its cubical faces to an additional vertex to form the four-
dimensional analogue of a pyramid. Both figures, as well as other 4-dimensional figures, can be directly
visualised and depicted using 4-dimensional stereographs.[1]

Harder still to imagine are the more modern abstract regular polytopes such as the 57-cell or the 11-cell.
From the mathematical point of view, however, these objects have the same aesthetic qualities as their more
familiar two and three-dimensional relatives.

At the start of the 20th century, the definition of a regular polytope was as follows.

A regular polygon is a polygon whose edges are all equal and whose angles are all equal.
A regular polyhedron is a polyhedron whose faces are all congruent regular polygons, and
whose vertex figures are all congruent and regular.
And so on, a regular n-polytope is an n-dimensional polytope whose (n − 1)-dimensional faces
are all regular and congruent, and whose vertex figures are all regular and congruent.

This is a "recursive" definition. It defines regularity of higher dimensional figures in terms of regular figures
of a lower dimension. There is an equivalent (non-recursive) definition, which states that a polytope is
regular if it has a sufficient degree of symmetry.

An n-polytope is regular if any set consisting of a vertex, an edge containing it, a 2-dimensional
face containing the edge, and so on up to n−1 dimensions, can be mapped to any other such
set by a symmetry of the polytope.

So for example, the cube is regular because if we choose a vertex of the cube, and one of the three edges it is
on, and one of the two faces containing the edge, then this triplet, or flag, (vertex, edge, face) can be mapped
to any other such flag by a suitable symmetry of the cube. Thus we can define a regular polytope very
succinctly:

A regular polytope is one whose symmetry group is transitive on its flags.

In the 20th century, some important developments were made. The symmetry groups of the classical regular
polytopes were generalised into what are now called Coxeter groups. Coxeter groups also include the
symmetry groups of regular tessellations of space or of the plane. For example, the symmetry group of an
infinite chessboard would be the Coxeter group [4,4].

Apeirotopes — infinite polytopes

In the first part of the 20th century, Coxeter and Petrie discovered three infinite structures {4, 6}, {6, 4} and
{6, 6}. They called them regular skew polyhedra, because they seemed to satisfy the definition of a regular
polyhedron — all the vertices, edges and faces are alike, all the angles are the same, and the figure has no
free edges. Nowadays, they are called infinite polyhedra or apeirohedra. The regular tilings of the plane {4,
4}, {3, 6} and {6, 3} can also be regarded as infinite polyhedra.

In the 1960s Branko Grünbaum issued a call to the geometric community to consider more abstract types of
regular polytopes that he called polystromata. He developed the theory of polystromata, showing examples
of new objects he called regular apeirotopes, that is, regular polytopes with infinitely many faces. A simple
example of a skew apeirogon would be a zig-zag. It seems to satisfy the definition of a regular polygon —
all the edges are the same length, all the angles are the same, and the figure has no loose ends (because they
can never be reached). More importantly, perhaps, there are symmetries of the zig-zag that can map any pair
of a vertex and attached edge to any other. Since then, other regular apeirogons and higher apeirotopes have
continued to be discovered.

Regular complex polytopes

A complex number has a real part, which is the bit we are all familiar with, and an imaginary part, which is
a multiple of the square root of minus one. A complex Hilbert space has its x, y, z, etc. coordinates as
complex numbers. This effectively doubles the number of dimensions. A polytope constructed in such a
unitary space is called a complex polytope.[2]

Abstract polytopes

Grünbaum also discovered the 11-cell, a four-dimensional self-dual object whose facets are not icosahedra,
but are "hemi-icosahedra" — that is, they are the shape one gets if one considers opposite faces of the
icosahedra to be actually the same face (Grünbaum 1976). The hemi-icosahedron has only 10 triangular
faces, and 6 vertices, unlike the icosahedron, which has 20 and 12.

This concept may be easier for the reader to grasp if one considers the relationship of the cube and the
hemicube. An ordinary cube has 8 corners, they could be labeled A to H, with A opposite H, B opposite G,
and so on. In a hemicube, A and H would be treated as the same corner. So would B and G, and so on. The
edge AB would become the same edge as GH, and the face ABEF would become the same face as CDGH.
The new shape has only three faces, 6 edges and 4 corners.

The 11-cell cannot be formed with regular geometry in flat (Euclidean) hyperspace, but only in positively
curved (elliptic) hyperspace.

A few years after Grünbaum's discovery of the 11-cell, H. S. M. Coxeter independently discovered the same
shape. He had earlier discovered a similar polytope, the 57-cell (Coxeter 1982, 1984).

By 1994 Grünbaum was considering polytopes abstractly as combinatorial sets of points or vertices, and was
unconcerned whether faces were planar. As he and others refined these ideas, such sets came to be called
abstract polytopes. An abstract polytope is defined as a partially ordered set (poset), whose elements are
the polytope's faces (vertices, edges, faces etc.) ordered
by containment. Certain restrictions are imposed on the
set that are similar to properties satisfied by the classical
regular polytopes (including the Platonic solids). The
restrictions, however, are loose enough that regular
tessellations, hemicubes, and even objects as strange as
the 11-cell or stranger, are all examples of regular
polytopes.

A geometric polytope is understood to be a realization

of the abstract polytope, such that there is a one-to-one
mapping from the abstract elements to the geometric.
Thus, any geometric polytope may be described by the
appropriate abstract poset, though not all abstract
polytopes have proper geometric realizations.

The theory has since been further developed, largely by

McMullen & Schulte (2002), but other researchers have
also made contributions. The Hemicube is derived from a cube by equating
opposite vertices, edges, and faces. It has 4
Regularity of abstract polytopes vertices, 6 edges, and 3 faces.

Regularity has a related, though different meaning for

abstract polytopes, since angles and lengths of edges have no meaning.

The definition of regularity in terms of the transitivity of flags as given in the introduction applies to abstract
polytopes.

Any classical regular polytope has an abstract equivalent which is regular, obtained by taking the set of
faces. But non-regular classical polytopes can have regular abstract equivalents, since abstract polytopes
don't care about angles and edge lengths, for example. And a regular abstract polytope may not be realisable
as a classical polytope.

All polygons are regular in the abstract world, for example, whereas only those having equal angles and
edges of equal length are regular in the classical world.

Vertex figure of abstract polytopes

The concept of vertex figure is also defined differently for an abstract polytope. The vertex figure of a given
abstract n-polytope at a given vertex V is the set of all abstract faces which contain V, including V itself.
More formally, it is the abstract section

Fn / V = {F | V ≤ F ≤ Fn}

where Fn is the maximal face, i.e. the notional n-face which contains all other faces. Note that each i-face,
i ≥ 0 of the original polytope becomes an (i − 1)-face of the vertex figure.

Unlike the case for Euclidean polytopes, an abstract polytope with regular facets and vertex figures may or
may not be regular itself – for example, the square pyramid, all of whose facets and vertex figures are
regular abstract polygons.

The classical vertex figure will, however, be a realisation of the abstract one.
Constructions

Polygons

The traditional way to construct a regular polygon, or indeed any other figure on the plane, is by compass
and straightedge. Constructing some regular polygons in this way is very simple (the easiest is perhaps the
equilateral triangle), some are more complex, and some are impossible ("not constructible"). The simplest
few regular polygons that are impossible to construct are the n-sided polygons with n equal to 7, 9, 11, 13,
14, 18, 19, 21,...

Constructibility in this sense refers only to ideal constructions with ideal tools. Of course reasonably
accurate approximations can be constructed by a range of methods; while theoretically possible
constructions may be impractical.

Polyhedra

Euclid's Elements gave what amount to ruler-and-compass constructions for the five Platonic solids.[3]
However, the merely practical question of how one might draw a straight line in space, even with a ruler,
might lead one to question what exactly it means to "construct" a regular polyhedron. (One could ask the
same question about the polygons, of course.)

The English word "construct" has the connotation of systematically

building the thing constructed. The most common way presented to
construct a regular polyhedron is via a fold-out net. To obtain a fold-
out net of a polyhedron, one takes the surface of the polyhedron and
cuts it along just enough edges so that the surface may be laid out
flat. This gives a plan for the net of the unfolded polyhedron. Since
the Platonic solids have only triangles, squares and pentagons for
Net for icosahedron
faces, and these are all constructible with a ruler and compass, there
exist ruler-and-compass methods for drawing these fold-out nets.
The same applies to star polyhedra, although here we must be
careful to make the net for only the visible outer surface.

If this net is drawn on cardboard, or similar foldable material (for example, sheet metal), the net may be cut
out, folded along the uncut edges, joined along the appropriate cut edges, and so forming the polyhedron for
which the net was designed. For a given polyhedron there may be many fold-out nets. For example, there
are 11 for the cube, and over 900000 for the dodecahedron.[4]

Numerous children's toys, generally aimed at the teen or pre-teen age bracket, allow experimentation with
regular polygons and polyhedra. For example, klikko provides sets of plastic triangles, squares, pentagons
and hexagons that can be joined edge-to-edge in a large number of different ways. A child playing with such
a toy could re-discover the Platonic solids (or the Archimedean solids), especially if given a little guidance
from a knowledgeable adult.

In theory, almost any material may be used to construct regular polyhedra.[5] They may be carved out of
wood, modeled out of wire, formed from stained glass. The imagination is the limit.

Higher dimensions
In higher dimensions, it becomes harder to say what one means by
"constructing" the objects. Clearly, in a 3-dimensional universe, it is
impossible to build a physical model of an object having 4 or more
dimensions. There are several approaches normally taken to
overcome this matter.

The first approach, suitable for four dimensions, uses four-

dimensional stereography.[1] Depth in a third dimension is
represented with horizontal relative displacement, depth in a fourth
dimension with vertical relative displacement between the left and
right images of the stereograph.

The second approach is to embed the higher-dimensional objects in

three-dimensional space, using methods analogous to the ways in
which three-dimensional objects are drawn on the plane. For
example, the fold out nets mentioned in the previous section have
higher-dimensional equivalents.[6] One might even imagine building Net for tesseract
a model of this fold-out net, as one draws a polyhedron's fold-out net
on a piece of paper. Sadly, we could never do the necessary folding
of the 3-dimensional structure to obtain the 4-dimensional polytope
because of the constraints of the physical universe. Another way to
"draw" the higher-dimensional shapes in 3 dimensions is via some
kind of projection, for example, the analogue of either orthographic
or perspective projection. Coxeter's famous book on polytopes
(Coxeter 1948) has some examples of such orthographic
projections.[7] Note that immersing even 4-dimensional polychora
directly into two dimensions is quite confusing. Easier to understand
are 3-d models of the projections. Such models are occasionally
found in science museums or mathematics departments of
universities (such as that of the Université Libre de Bruxelles).

The intersection of a four (or higher) dimensional regular polytope

with a three-dimensional hyperplane will be a polytope (not A perspective projection (Schlegel
diagram) for tesseract
necessarily regular). If the hyperplane is moved through the shape,
the three-dimensional slices can be combined, animated into a kind
of four dimensional object, where the fourth dimension is taken to be
time. In this way, we can see (if not fully grasp) the full four-dimensional
structure of the four-dimensional regular polytopes, via such cutaway cross
sections. This is analogous to the way a CAT scan reassembles two-
dimensional images to form a 3-dimensional representation of the organs
being scanned. The ideal would be an animated hologram of some sort,
however, even a simple animation such as the one shown can already give
some limited insight into the structure of the polytope. An animated cut-away
cross-section of the 24-
Another way a three-dimensional viewer can comprehend the structure of a cell.
four-dimensional polytope is through being "immersed" in the object, perhaps
via some form of virtual reality technology. To understand how this might
work, imagine what one would see if space were filled with cubes. The viewer would be inside one of the
cubes, and would be able to see cubes in front of, behind, above, below, to the left and right of himself. If
one could travel in these directions, one could explore the array of cubes, and gain an understanding of its
geometrical structure. An infinite array of cubes is not a polytope in the traditional sense. In fact, it is a
tessellation of 3-dimensional (Euclidean) space. However, a 4-polytope can be considered a tessellation of a
3-dimensional non-Euclidean space, namely, a tessellation of the surface of a four-dimensional sphere (a 4-
dimensional spherical tiling).

Locally, this space seems like the one we are familiar with, and
therefore, a virtual-reality system could, in principle, be
programmed to allow exploration of these "tessellations", that is, of
the 4-dimensional regular polytopes. The mathematics department at
UIUC has a number of pictures of what one would see if embedded
in a tessellation of hyperbolic space with dodecahedra. Such a
tessellation forms an example of an infinite abstract regular
polytope.

Normally, for abstract regular polytopes, a mathematician considers

that the object is "constructed" if the structure of its symmetry group
is known. This is because of an important theorem in the study of
abstract regular polytopes, providing a technique that allows the
A regular dodecahedral honeycomb,
abstract regular polytope to be constructed from its symmetry group
{5,3,4}, of hyperbolic space projected
into 3-space.
in a standard and straightforward manner.

Regular polytopes in nature

For examples of polygons in nature, see:

Each of the Platonic solids occurs naturally in one form or another:

See also
List of regular polytopes
Johnson solid
Bartel Leendert van der Waerden

References

Notes
1. Brisson, David W. (2019) [1978]. "Visual Comprehension in n-Dimensions" (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=zcPADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109). In Brisson, David W. (ed.). Hypergraphics:
Visualizing Complex Relationships In Arts, Science, And Technololgy. AAAS Selected
Symposium. 24. Taylor & Francis. pp. 109–145. ISBN 978-0-429-70681-3.
2. Coxeter (1974)
3. See, for example, Euclid's Elements (http://www.dform.com/projects/euclid/home.html).
4. Some interesting fold-out nets of the cube, octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron are
available here (http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjPoly/projPoly.html).
5. Instructions for building origami models may be found here (https://web.archive.org/web/20041
011191240/http://www1.zetosa.com.pl/~burczyk/origami/galery1-en.htm), for example.
6. Some of these may be viewed at [1] (http://www.weimholt.com/andrew/polytope.shtml).
7. Other examples may be found on the web (see for example [2] (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/
600-Cell.html)).
Bibliography
Coxeter, H.S.M. (1973). Regular Polytopes (3rd ed.). Dover. ISBN 0-486-61480-8.
— (1974). Regular Complex Polytopes
(https://archive.org/details/regularcomplexpo0000coxe). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 052120125X.
— (1991). Regular Complex Polytopes (https://books.google.com/books?id=a-R4QgAACAAJ)
(2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-39490-1.
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pp. 191–197.
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External links
Olshevsky, George. "Regular polytope" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070204075028/membe
rs.aol.com/Polycell/glossary.html#Regular). Glossary for Hyperspace. Archived from the
original (http://members.aol.com/Polycell/glossary.html#Regular) on 4 February 2007.
The Atlas of Small Regular Polytopes (http://www.abstract-polytopes.com/atlas/index.html) -
List of abstract regular polytopes.
 Fundamental convex regular and uniform polytopes in dimensions 2–10
E6 / E7 / E8 /
Family An Bn I2(p) / Dn Hn
F4 / G2

Regular polygon Triangle Square p-gon Hexagon Pentagon

Uniform polyhedron Octahedron • Dodecahedron •

Tetrahedron Demicube
Cube Icosahedron

Uniform 4-polytope 16-cell •

5-cell Demitesseract 24-cell 120-cell • 600-cell
Tesseract

Uniform 5-polytope 5-orthoplex • 5-

5-simplex 5-demicube
cube

Uniform 6-polytope 6-orthoplex • 6-

6-simplex 6-demicube 122 • 221
cube

Uniform 7-polytope 7-orthoplex • 7-

7-simplex 7-demicube 132 • 231 • 321
cube

Uniform 8-polytope 8-orthoplex • 8-

8-simplex 8-demicube 142 • 241 • 421
cube

Uniform 9-polytope 9-orthoplex • 9-

9-simplex 9-demicube
cube

Uniform 10-polytope 10-orthoplex • 10-

10-simplex 10-demicube
cube
n-orthoplex • n- n-pentagonal
Uniform n-polytope n-simplex n-demicube 1k2 • 2k1 • k21
cube polytope
Topics: Polytope families • Regular polytope • List of regular polytopes and compounds

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