Hexagon

A hexagon is a polygon with 6 sides and 6 corners (vertices). Like regular triangles and squares, hexagons fit together without gaps. This is known as a tessellation. Because of this, they are often used for tiling floors. They are also quite common in nature. For example, the honeycombs in a beehive are hexagons.

Regular hexagon
A regular hexagon
Type	Regular polygon
Edges and vertices	6
Schläfli symbol	{6}, t{3}
Coxeter diagram	File:CDel node 1.pngFile:CDel node.png File:CDel node 1.pngFile:CDel 3.pngFile:CDel node 1.png
Symmetry group	Dihedral (D6), order 2×6
Internal angle (degrees)	120°
Dual polygon	Self
Properties	Convex, cyclic, equilateral, isogonal, isotoxal

Hexagons: in nature and by humankind

• Honey comb.jpg

  A beehive honeycomb

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  The scutes of a turtle's carapace

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  North polar hexagonal cloud feature on Saturn, discovered by Voyager 1 and confirmed in 2006 by Cassini [1] Archived 2010-02-16 at the Wayback Machine [2] Archived 2010-09-27 at the Wayback Machine [3]

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  Micrograph of a snowflake

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  Hexagonal floor tessellations (in Rome)

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  Naturally formed basalt columns from Giant's Causeway in Ireland; large masses must cool slowly to form a polygonal fracture pattern

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  An aerial view of Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park

Hexagon Media

• R = Circumradius; r = Inradius; t = side length

• The six lines of reflection of a regular hexagon, with Dih6 or r12 symmetry, order 12.

• The dihedral symmetries are divided depending on whether they pass through vertices (d for diagonal) or edges (p for perpendiculars) Cyclic symmetries in the middle column are labeled as g for their central gyration orders. Full symmetry of the regular form is r12 and no symmetry is labeled a1.

• Isohedral tiling

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  Isohedral tiling

• Isohedral tiling

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  Isohedral hexagonal tiling

• Isohedral hexagonal tiling

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  Isohedral tiling

• Isohedral tiling p6-1.svg

  Isohedral hexagonal tiling

Related pages

• Polygon
• Triangle
• Square
• Pentagon
• Heptagon
• Octagon

Other websites

• Definition and properties of a hexagon With interactive animation
• Cassini Images Bizarre Hexagon on Saturn Archived 2010-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Saturn's Strange Hexagon Archived 2010-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
• A hexagonal feature around Saturn's North Pole
• "Bizarre Hexagon Spotted on Saturn" - from Space.com (27 March 2007)