The quarter cubic honeycomb, quarter cubic cellulation or bitruncated alternated cubic honeycomb is a space-filling
tessellation
A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane (mathematics), plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to high-dimensional ...
(or
honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
beekeeping, Beekee ...
) in
Euclidean 3-space
Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...
. It is composed of
tetrahedra
In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the o ...
and
truncated tetrahedra
In geometry, the truncated tetrahedron is an Archimedean solid. It has 4 regular hexagonal faces, 4 equilateral triangle faces, 12 vertices and 18 edges (of two types). It can be constructed by truncating all 4 vertices of a regular tetrahedron ...
in a ratio of 1:1. It is called "quarter-cubic" because its symmetry unit – the minimal block from which the pattern is developed by reflections – is four times that of the
cubic honeycomb
The cubic honeycomb or cubic cellulation is the only proper regular space-filling tessellation (or honeycomb) in Euclidean 3-space made up of cubic cells. It has 4 cubes around every edge, and 8 cubes around each vertex. Its vertex figure is a re ...
.
It is
vertex-transitive
In geometry, a polytope (e.g. a polygon or polyhedron) or a tiling is isogonal or vertex-transitive if all its vertices are equivalent under the symmetries of the figure. This implies that each vertex is surrounded by the same kinds of face in ...
with 6
truncated tetrahedra
In geometry, the truncated tetrahedron is an Archimedean solid. It has 4 regular hexagonal faces, 4 equilateral triangle faces, 12 vertices and 18 edges (of two types). It can be constructed by truncating all 4 vertices of a regular tetrahedron ...
and 2
tetrahedra
In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the o ...
around each vertex.
It is one of the 28
convex uniform honeycomb
In geometry, a convex uniform honeycomb is a uniform polytope, uniform tessellation which fills three-dimensional Euclidean space with non-overlapping convex polyhedron, convex uniform polyhedron, uniform polyhedral cells.
Twenty-eight such honey ...
s.
The faces of this honeycomb's cells form four families of parallel planes, each with a
3.6.3.6 tiling.
Its
vertex figure
In geometry, a vertex figure, broadly speaking, is the figure exposed when a corner of a polyhedron or polytope is sliced off.
Definitions
Take some corner or Vertex (geometry), vertex of a polyhedron. Mark a point somewhere along each connect ...
is an isosceles
antiprism
In geometry, an antiprism or is a polyhedron composed of two parallel direct copies (not mirror images) of an polygon, connected by an alternating band of triangles. They are represented by the Conway notation .
Antiprisms are a subclass o ...
: two
equilateral triangle
In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, an equilateral triangle is also equiangular; that is, all three internal angles are also congruent to each othe ...
s joined by six
isosceles triangle
In geometry, an isosceles triangle () is a triangle that has two sides of equal length. Sometimes it is specified as having ''exactly'' two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having ''at least'' two sides of equal length, the latter versio ...
s.
John Horton Conway
John Horton Conway (26 December 1937 – 11 April 2020) was an English mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. He also made contributions to many branches ...
calls this honeycomb a truncated tetrahedrille, and its dual
oblate cubille.
The vertices and edges represent a
Kagome lattice
In geometry, the trihexagonal tiling is one of 11 uniform tilings of the Euclidean plane by regular polygons. See in particular Theorem 2.1.3, p. 59 (classification of uniform tilings); Figure 2.1.5, p.63 (illustration of this tiling), Theorem 2. ...
in three dimensions, which is the
pyrochlore
Pyrochlore () is a mineral group of the niobium end member of the pyrochlore supergroup.
The general formula, (where A and B are metals), represent a family of phases isostructural to the mineral pyrochlore.
Pyrochlores are an important class of ...
lattice.
Construction
The quarter cubic honeycomb can be constructed in slab layers of truncated tetrahedra and tetrahedral cells, seen as two
trihexagonal tiling
In geometry, the trihexagonal tiling is one of 11 uniform tilings of the Euclidean plane by regular polygons. See in particular Theorem 2.1.3, p. 59 (classification of uniform tilings); Figure 2.1.5, p.63 (illustration of this tiling), Theorem 2 ...
s. Two tetrahedra are stacked by a vertex and a
central inversion
In geometry, a point reflection (point inversion, central inversion, or inversion through a point) is a type of isometry of Euclidean space. An object that is invariant under a point reflection is said to possess point symmetry; if it is invari ...
. In each
trihexagonal tiling
In geometry, the trihexagonal tiling is one of 11 uniform tilings of the Euclidean plane by regular polygons. See in particular Theorem 2.1.3, p. 59 (classification of uniform tilings); Figure 2.1.5, p.63 (illustration of this tiling), Theorem 2 ...
, half of the triangles belong to tetrahedra, and half belong to truncated tetrahedra. These slab layers must be stacked with tetrahedra triangles to truncated tetrahedral triangles to construct the uniform ''quarter cubic honeycomb''. Slab layers of hexagonal prisms and triangular prisms can be alternated for ''elongated'' honeycombs, but these are also not uniform.
Symmetry
Cells can be shown in two different symmetries. The reflection generated form represented by its
Coxeter-Dynkin diagram has two colors of
truncated cuboctahedra. The symmetry can be doubled by relating the pairs of ringed and unringed nodes of the Coxeter-Dynkin diagram, which can be shown with one colored tetrahedral and truncated tetrahedral cells.
Related polyhedra
This honeycomb is one of five distinct uniform honeycombs
6-1 cases, skipping one with zero marks constructed by the Coxeter group
In mathematics, a Coxeter group, named after H. S. M. Coxeter, is an abstract group that admits a formal description in terms of reflections (or kaleidoscopic mirrors). Indeed, the finite Coxeter groups are precisely the finite Euclidean refl ...
. The symmetry can be multiplied by the symmetry of rings in the Coxeter–Dynkin diagram
In geometry, a Coxeter–Dynkin diagram (or Coxeter diagram, Coxeter graph) is a graph with numerically labeled edges (called branches) representing the spatial relations between a collection of mirrors (or reflecting hyperplanes). It describe ...
s:
The Quarter cubic honeycomb is related to a matrix of 3-dimensional honeycombs: q
See also
* Truncated simplectic honeycomb
* Triakis truncated tetrahedral honeycomb
The triakis truncated tetrahedral honeycomb is a space-filling tessellation (or honeycomb) in Euclidean 3-space made up of triakis truncated tetrahedra. It was discovered in 1914.
Voronoi tessellation
It is the Voronoi tessellation of the carbo ...
* Architectonic and catoptric tessellation
In geometry, John Horton Conway defines architectonic and catoptric tessellations as the uniform tessellations (or honeycombs) of Euclidean 3-space with prime space groups and their duals, as three-dimensional analogue of the Platonic, Archime ...
References
* John H. Conway
John Horton Conway (26 December 1937 – 11 April 2020) was an English people, English mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. He also made contributions to ...
, Heidi Burgiel
''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Used ...
, Chaim Goodman-Strauss
Chaim Goodman-Strauss (born June 22, 1967 in Austin TX) is an American mathematician who works in convex geometry, especially aperiodic tiling. He is on the faculty of the University of Arkansas and is a co-author with John H. Conway of ''The Sym ...
, (2008) ''The Symmetries of Things'', (Chapter 21, Naming the Archimedean and Catalan polyhedra and tilings, Architectonic and Catoptric tessellations, p 292-298, includes all the nonprismatic forms)
* George Olshevsky, ''Uniform Panoploid Tetracombs'', Manuscript (2006) ''(Complete list of 11 convex uniform tilings, 28 convex uniform honeycombs, and 143 convex uniform tetracombs)''
* Branko Grünbaum
Branko Grünbaum ( he, ברנקו גרונבאום; 2 October 1929 – 14 September 2018) was a Croatian-born mathematician of Jewish descent[Geombinatorics
Alexander Soifer is a Russian-born American mathematician and mathematics author. His works include over 400 articles and 13 books.
Soifer obtained his Ph.D. in 1973 and has been a professor of mathematics at the University of Colorado since 197 ...](_blank)
4(1994), 49 - 56.
* Norman Johnson ''Uniform Polytopes'', Manuscript (1991)
*
*
* Kaleidoscopes: Selected Writings of H.S.M. Coxeter, edited by F. Arthur Sherk, Peter McMullen, Anthony C. Thompson, Asia Ivic Weiss, Wiley-Interscience Publication, 1995,
** (Paper 22) H.S.M. Coxeter, ''Regular and Semi Regular Polytopes I'', ath. Zeit. 46 (1940) 380-407, MR 2,10(1.9 Uniform space-fillings)
* A. Andreini, ''Sulle reti di poliedri regolari e semiregolari e sulle corrispondenti reti correlative'' (On the regular and semiregular nets of polyhedra and on the corresponding correlative nets), Mem. Società Italiana della Scienze, Ser.3, 14 (1905) 75–129.
* D. M. Y. Sommerville, ''An Introduction to the Geometry of n Dimensions.'' New York, E. P. Dutton, 1930. 196 pp. (Dover Publications edition, 1958) Chapter X: The Regular Polytopes
*
Uniform Honeycombs in 3-Space: 15-Batatoh
{{Honeycombs
Honeycombs (geometry)