Dictionary Definition
hexagonal adj : having six sides or divided into
hexagons [syn: hexangular]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /hɛkˈsægənəl/, /hEk"s
Extensive Definition
In geometry, a hexagon is a
polygon with six edges
and six vertices.
A regular hexagon has Schläfli
symbol .
Regular hexagon
The internal angles of a regular hexagon (one
where all sides and all angles are equal) are all 120° and the
hexagon has 720 degrees. It has 6 rotational
symmetries and 6 reflection
symmetries, making up the dihedral
group D6. The longest diagonals of a regular hexagon,
connecting diametrically opposite vertices, are twice its sides in
length. Like squares
and equilateral
triangles,
regular hexagons fit together without any gaps to tile the plane
(three hexagons meeting at every vertex), and so are useful for
constructing tessellations. The cells of
a beehive
honeycomb are
hexagonal for this reason and because the shape makes efficient use
of space and building materials. The Voronoi
diagram of a regular triangular lattice is the honeycomb
tessellation of hexagons.
The area of a regular hexagon
of side length t\,\! is given by A = \fract^2 \simeq 2.598076211
t^2.
The perimeter of a regular
hexagon of side length t\,\! is, of course, 6t\,\!, its maximal
diameter 2t\,\!, and its minimal diameter t\sqrt\,\!. There is no
platonic
solid made of regular hexagons. The archimedean
solids with some hexagonal faces are the truncated
tetrahedron, truncated
octahedron, truncated
icosahedron (of soccer ball and fullerene fame), truncated
cuboctahedron and the truncated
icosidodecahedron.
Hexagons: natural and human-made
's carapace France has a vaguely
hexagonal shape. In French, "L'hexagone" sometimes refers to the
country.
See also
- Hexagram: 6-sided star within a regular hexagon
- Unicursal hexagram: single path, 6-sided star, within a hexagon
- Hexagonal tiling: a regular tiling of hexagons in a plane
- Hexagonal number
External links
- Definition and properties of a hexagon With interactive animation
- Cassini Images Bizarre Hexagon on Saturn
- Saturn's Strange Hexagon
- A hexagonal feature around Saturn's North Pole
- "Bizarre Hexagon Spotted on Saturn" - from Space.com (27 March 2007)
hexagonal in Afrikaans:
Seshoek
hexagonal in Arabic: سداسي
الأضلاع
hexagonal in Asturian:
Hexágonu
hexagonal in Azerbaijani:
Düzgün altıbucaqlı
hexagonal in Bulgarian:
Шестоъгълник
hexagonal in Catalan:
Hexàgon
hexagonal in Czech:
Šestiúhelník
hexagonal in Danish:
Sekskant
hexagonal in German:
Sechseck
hexagonal in Spanish:
Hexágono
hexagonal in Esperanto:
Seslatero
hexagonal in French:
Hexagone
hexagonal in Galician:
Hexágono
hexagonal in Korean:
육각형
hexagonal in Italian:
Esagono
hexagonal in Hebrew:
משושה
hexagonal in Haitian:
Egzagòn
hexagonal in Lithuanian:
Šešiakampis
hexagonal in Hungarian:
Hatszög
hexagonal in Malay
(macrolanguage): Heksagon
hexagonal in Mongolian:
Зургаан өнцөгт
hexagonal in Dutch:
Zeshoek
hexagonal in Japanese:
六角形
hexagonal in Norwegian:
Heksagon
hexagonal in Norwegian
Nynorsk: Heksagon
hexagonal in Narom:
Siêx-carres
hexagonal in Polish:
Sześciokąt
hexagonal in Portuguese:
Hexágono
hexagonal in Romanian:
Hexagon
hexagonal in Russian:
Правильный шестиугольник
hexagonal in Simple English:
Hexagon
hexagonal in Slovak:
Šesťuholník
hexagonal in Slovenian:
Šestkotnik
hexagonal in Serbian:
Шестоугао
hexagonal in Finnish:
Kuusikulmio
hexagonal in Swedish:
Hexagon
hexagonal in Tamil:
அறுகோணம்
hexagonal in Telugu:
షడ్భుజి
hexagonal in Thai:
รูปหกเหลี่ยม
hexagonal in Turkish:
Altıgen
hexagonal in Chinese:
六边形