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Axial symmetry is "Axial symmetry"
Axial symmetry is symmetry
Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is Invariant (mathematics), invariant und ...
around an axis or line (geometry)
In geometry, a straight line, usually abbreviated line, is an infinitely long object with no width, depth, or curvature, an idealization of such physical objects as a straightedge, a taut string, or a ray (optics), ray of light. Lines are spa ...
. An object is said to be ''axially symmetric'' if its appearance is unchanged if transformed around an axis. The main types of axial symmetry are ''reflection symmetry
In mathematics, reflection symmetry, line symmetry, mirror symmetry, or mirror-image symmetry is symmetry with respect to a Reflection (mathematics), reflection. That is, a figure which does not change upon undergoing a reflection has reflecti ...
'' and ''rotational symmetry
Rotational symmetry, also known as radial symmetry in geometry, is the property a shape (geometry), shape has when it looks the same after some rotation (mathematics), rotation by a partial turn (angle), turn. An object's degree of rotational s ...
'' (including circular symmetry
In geometry, circular symmetry is a type of continuous symmetry for a Plane (geometry), planar object that can be rotational symmetry, rotated by any arbitrary angle and map onto itself.
Rotational circular symmetry is isomorphic with the circl ...
for plane figures).American Meteorological Society
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...
glossary of meteorology. Retrieved 2010-04-08. For example, a baseball bat (without trademark or other design), or a plain white tea saucer, looks the same if it is rotated by any angle about the line passing lengthwise through its center, so it is axially symmetric.
Axial symmetry can also be discrete
Discrete may refer to:
*Discrete particle or quantum in physics, for example in quantum theory
* Discrete device, an electronic component with just one circuit element, either passive or active, other than an integrated circuit
* Discrete group, ...
with a fixed angle of rotation, 360°/''n'' for ''n''-fold symmetry.
See also
* Axiality (geometry), the degree of axial symmetry *Chiral symmetry
A chiral phenomenon is one that is not identical to its mirror image (see the article on mathematical chirality). The spin of a particle may be used to define a handedness, or helicity, for that particle, which, in the case of a massless particl ...
describes the use in quantum mechanics
References
Symmetry {{elementary-geometry-stub