last updated Wed, January 9, 2008

Polyhedra Notes

written by Rene K. Mueller, Copyright (c) 2007, last updated Wed, January 9, 2008

Introduction

After a some research I composed following comprehensive overview:


So a total of 110 convex and 62 concave polyhedra plus apprx. 500 convex parametrical created Waterman polyhedra are listed on the next pages of this document.

A hint on name convention:
  • 1: mono
  • 2: di
  • 3: tri
  • 4: tetra
  • 5: penta

  • 6: hexa
  • 7: hepta
  • 8: octa
  • 9: ennéa
  • 10: deca

  • 11: hendeca
  • 12: dodeca
  • 13: triskaideca
  • 14: tetrakaideca

  • 20: ico
  • 24: icotetra
  • 30: triaconta
  • 60: hexaconta

thereby polygons ('gon' from greek 'gonu' (knee or angle)) of n-sides:
  • 1: monogon
  • 2: digon
  • 3: trigon, triangle
  • 4: tetragon, quadrilateral
  • 5: pentagon
  • 6: hexagon
  • 7: heptahon
  • 8: octagon
  • 9: enneagon
  • 10: decagon
  • 11: hendecagon
  • 12: dodecagon
  • 13: triskaidecagon
  • 14: tetrakaidecagon, tetradecagon
  • 15: pentakaidecagon, pentadecagon
  • 16: hexakaidecagon, hexadecagon
  • 17: heptakaidecagon
  • 18: octakaidecagon
  • 19: enneakaidecagon

  • 20: icosagon
  • 21: icosikaihenagon, icosihenagon
  • 22: icosikaidigon
  • 23: icosikaitrigon
  • 24: icosikaitetragon
  • 25: icosikaipentagon
  • 26: icosikaihexagon
  • 27: icosikaiheptagon
  • 28: icosikaioctagon
  • 29: icosikaienneagon
  • 30: triacontagon
  • 31: triacontakaihenagon
  • 32: triacontakaidigon
  • 33: triacontakaitrigon
  • 34: triacontakaitetragon
  • 35: triacontakaipentagon
  • 36: triacontakaihexagon
  • 37: triacontakaiheptagon
  • 38: triacontakaioctagon
  • 39: triacontakaienneagon

  • 40: tetracontagon
  • 41: tetracontakaihenagon
  • 42: tetracontakaidigon
  • 43: tetracontakaitrigon
  • 44: tetracontakaitetragon
  • 45: tetracontakaipentagon
  • 46: tetracontakaihexagon
  • 47: tetracontakaiheptagon
  • 48: tetracontakaioctagon
  • 49: tetracontakaienneagon
  • 50: pentacontagon ...
  • 60: hexacontagon ...
  • 70: heptacontagon ...
  • 80: octacontagon ...
  • 90: enneacontagon ...
  • 100: hectogon, hecatontagon
  • 1000: chiliagon
  • 10000: myriagon

Based on the study here of suitable solids or polyhedra I extract geodesic variants and from there I sort out those finally which are suitable for dome construction.

Note: The page structure might change depending how much info I will include in the future, e.g. multiple pages or separate pages for each form. Let's see.

Platonic Solids


Tetrahedron

Octahedron

Cube

Icosahedron

Dodecahedron


Neolithic Carved Stones
They are called "platonic" as Plato (400 BC) described them in Timaeus , but those forms have been discovered in Scotland and are dated 2000-3200 BC and relate to the "neolithic" or "new stone age" people of that time (see also George Hart: Neolithic Carved Stone Polyhedra ). For more infos see Google: Carved Stone Balls .

Archimedean Solids


Truncated Tetrahedron

Cuboctahedron

Truncated Octahedron

Truncated Cube

Rhombicuboctahedron

Truncated Cuboctahedron

Snub Cube

Icosidodecahedron

Truncated Icosahedron

Truncated Dodecahedron

Rhombicosidodecahedron

Truncated Icosidodecahedron

Snub Dodecahedron

The base information is compiled from Wikipedia and Mathworld and "Uniform solution for uniform polyhedra" by Zvi Har'El , merged all that information and additionally listed V, A, and rinner and router with a calculator. I also plan to comment on each form, and suggest usage for a temporary building, especially if further triangulation like with the icosahedron to geodesic domes.

Symbols:

Duals of a solid is when the solids' vertices become faces and vice-versa.

Edit the fields with yellow background and hit ENTER or TAB to (re)calculate the other values.

Note: I still need to cross-check all expressions (V, A, rinner and router) by other sources, so don't rely on it yet.

Tetrahedron


Tetrahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Tetrahedron


Truncated Tetrahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Octahedron


Octahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Half of an octahedron is the classic pyramid.

Cube


Cube


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

It's one of the main forms of western architecture, and one of the main zonohedra (aka parallelohedron), the ability to tile space without holes. There are many more possible, more complex with more faces.

Cuboctahedron


Cuboctahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Octahedron


Truncated Octahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Cube


Truncated Cube


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Rhombicuboctahedron


Rhombicuboctahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Cuboctahedron


Truncated Cuboctahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Snub Cube


Snub Cube


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Icosahedron


Icosahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

One variant of a geodesic dome can be derived from the Icosahedron.

Dodecahedron


Dodecahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Icosidodecahedron


Icosidodecahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Icosahedron


Truncated Icosahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Dodecahedron


Truncated Dodecahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Rhombicosidodecahedron


Rhombicosidodecahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Truncated Icosidodecahedron


Truncated Icosidodecahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

Snub Dodecahedron


Snub Dodecahedron


s = , V = , A = , rinner = , router = , ravg =

(Note: the volume for this solid is only available numerically, not symbolical - if you can provide me with the expression for V let me know).

References

Johnson Solids

In 1966 Norman Johnson published a paper "Convex Solids with Regular Faces" (Canadian Journal of Mathematics, Vol. 18, 1966, pp. 169-200) in which he classified and named 92 types of convex polyhedra which are composed by same side length additionally to the platonic and archimedean solids:


Square Pyramid

Pentagonal Pyramid

Triangular Cupola

Square Cupola

Pentagonal Cupola

Pentagonal Rotunda

Elongated Triangular Pyramid

Elongated Square Pyramid

Elongated Pentagonal Pyramid

Gyroelongated Square Pyramid

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Pyramid

Triangular Dipyramid

Pentagonal Dipyramid

Elongated Triangular Dipyramid

Elongated Square Dipyramid

Elongated Pentagonal Dipyramid

Gyroelongated Square Dipyramid

Elongated Triangular Cupola

Elongated Square Cupola

Elongated Pentagonal Cupola

Elongated Pentagonal Rotunda

Gyroelongated Triangular Cupola

Gyroelongated Square Cupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Cupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Rotunda

Gyrobifastigium

Triangular Orthobicupola

Square Orthobicupola

Square Gyrobicupola

Pentagonal Orthobicupola

Pentagonal Gyrobicupola

Pentagonal Orthocupolarontunda

Pentagonal Gyrocupolarotunda

Pentagonal Orthobirotunda

Elongated Triangular Orthobicupola

Elongated Triangular Gyrobicupola

Elongated Square Gyrobicupola

Elongated Pentagonal Orthobicupola

Elongated Pentagonal Gyrobicupola

Elongated Pentagonal Orthocupolarotunda

Elongated Pentagonal Gyrocupolarotunda

Elongated Pentagonal Orthobirotunda

Elongated Pentagonal Gyrobirotunda

Gyroelongated Triangular Bicupola

Gyroelongated Square Bicupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Bicupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Cupolarotunda

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Birotunda

Augmented Triangular Prism

Biaugmented Triangular Prism

Triaugmented Triangular Prism

Augmented Pentagonal Prism

Biaugmented Pentagonal Prism

Augmented Hexagonal Prism

Parabiaugmented Hexagonal Prism

Metabiaugmented Hexagonal Prism

Triaugmented Hexagonal Prism

Augmented Dodecahedron

Parabiaugmented Dodecahedron

Metabiaugmented Dodecahedron

Triaugmented Dodecahedron

Metabidiminished Icosahedron

Tridiminished Icosahedron

Augmented Tridiminished Icosahedron

Augmented Truncated Tetrahedron

Augmented Truncated Cube

Biaugmented Truncated Cube

Augmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Parabiaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Metabiaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Triaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Gyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Parabigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Metabigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Trigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Paragyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Metagyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Bigyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Parabidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Metabidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Gyrate Bidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Tridiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Snub Disphenoid

Snub Square Antiprism

Sphenocorona

Augmented Sphenocorona

Sphenomegacorona

Hebesphenomegacorona

Disphenocingulum

Bilunabirotunda

Triangular Hebesphenorotunda

As the time goes by I will comment those forms which look promising for a temporary building.

Square Pyramid


Square Pyramid



General Pyramid
The general pyramid:


Historic Pyramids


The Pyramids of Giza (courtesy Bruno Girin/DHD Multimedia Gallery )
Most obvious association with pyramids comes from the egyptian pyramids in Giza and those of the mayans in south america. It is also apparent those pyramids have been built with enormous effort and skills which is now honored by the durability of thousands of years.

The largest pyramid in Giza is the Khufu Pyramid, with following values:

thereby

Interesting ratio:

Read more at Great Pyramid of Giza .


Pentagonal Pyramid


Pentagonal Pyramid

The roof isn't very steep, unless those roof struts would be made longer - it would be a very simplistic habitat.


Triangular Cupola


Triangular Cupola

Square Cupola


Square Cupola

Also cap of a Rhombicuboctahedron.


Pentagonal Cupola


Pentagonal Cupola

Also cap of a Rhombicosidodecahedron.


Pentagonal Rotunda


Pentagonal Rotunda
Also 1/2 of a Icosidodecahedron.

Elongated Triangular Pyramid


Elongated Triangular Pyramid

Elongated Square Pyramid


Elongated Square Pyramid

Elongated Pentagonal Pyramid


Elongated Pentagonal Pyramid

Gyroelongated Square Pyramid


Gyroelongated Square Pyramid

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Pyramid


Gyroelongated Pentagonal Pyramid

Triangular Dipyramid


Triangular Dipyramid

Pentagonal Dipyramid


Pentagonal Dipyramid

Elongated Triangular Dipyramid


Elongated Triangular Dipyramid

Elongated Square Dipyramid


Elongated Square Dipyramid

Elongated Pentagonal Dipyramid


Elongated Pentagonal Dipyramid

Gyroelongated Square Dipyramid


Gyroelongated Square Dipyramid

Elongated Triangular Cupola


Elongated Triangular Cupola

Elongated Square Cupola


Elongated Square Cupola

Elongated Pentagonal Cupola


Elongated Pentagonal Cupola

Elongated Pentagonal Rotunda


Elongated Pentagonal Rotunda
Very suitable for a habitat, the top smaller pentagon as skylight, and eventually the side pentagons further triangulated each.

Gyroelongated Triangular Cupola


Gyroelongated Triangular Cupola

Gyroelongated Square Cupola


Gyroelongated Square Cupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Cupola


Gyroelongated Pentagonal Cupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Rotunda


Gyroelongated Pentagonal Rotunda
Alike the "Elongated Pentagonal Rotunda", suitable and increased stability for the vertical walls being triangles.

Gyrobifastigium


Gyrobifastigium

Triangular Orthobicupola


Triangular Orthobicupola

Square Orthobicupola


Square Orthobicupola

Square Gyrobicupola


Square Gyrobicupola

Pentagonal Orthobicupola


Pentagonal Orthobicupola

Pentagonal Gyrobicupola


Pentagonal Gyrobicupola

Pentagonal Orthocupolarontunda


Pentagonal Orthocupolarontunda

Pentagonal Gyrocupolarotunda


Pentagonal Gyrocupolarotunda

Pentagonal Orthobirotunda


Pentagonal Orthobirotunda

Elongated Triangular Orthobicupola


Elongated Triangular Orthobicupola

Elongated Triangular Gyrobicupola


Elongated Triangular Gyrobicupola

Elongated Square Gyrobicupola


Elongated Square Gyrobicupola

Elongated Pentagonal Orthobicupola


Elongated Pentagonal Orthobicupola

Elongated Pentagonal Gyrobicupola


Elongated Pentagonal Gyrobicupola

Elongated Pentagonal Orthocupolarotunda


Elongated Pentagonal Orthocupolarotunda

Elongated Pentagonal Gyrocupolarotunda


Elongated Pentagonal Gyrocupolarotunda

Elongated Pentagonal Orthobirotunda


Elongated Pentagonal Orthobirotunda

Elongated Pentagonal Gyrobirotunda


Elongated Pentagonal Gyrobirotunda

Gyroelongated Triangular Bicupola


Gyroelongated Triangular Bicupola

Gyroelongated Square Bicupola


Gyroelongated Square Bicupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Bicupola


Gyroelongated Pentagonal Bicupola

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Cupolarotunda


Gyroelongated Pentagonal Cupolarotunda

Gyroelongated Pentagonal Birotunda


Gyroelongated Pentagonal Birotunda

Augmented Triangular Prism


Augmented Triangular Prism

Biaugmented Triangular Prism


Biaugmented Triangular Prism

Triaugmented Triangular Prism


Triaugmented Triangular Prism

Augmented Pentagonal Prism


Augmented Pentagonal Prism

Biaugmented Pentagonal Prism


Biaugmented Pentagonal Prism

Augmented Hexagonal Prism


Augmented Hexagonal Prism

Parabiaugmented Hexagonal Prism


Parabiaugmented Hexagonal Prism

Metabiaugmented Hexagonal Prism


Metabiaugmented Hexagonal Prism

Triaugmented Hexagonal Prism


Triaugmented Hexagonal Prism

Augmented Dodecahedron


Augmented Dodecahedron

Parabiaugmented Dodecahedron


Parabiaugmented Dodecahedron

Metabiaugmented Dodecahedron


Metabiaugmented Dodecahedron

Triaugmented Dodecahedron


Triaugmented Dodecahedron

Metabidiminished Icosahedron


Metabidiminished Icosahedron

Tridiminished Icosahedron


Tridiminished Icosahedron

Augmented Tridiminished Icosahedron


Augmented Tridiminished Icosahedron

Augmented Truncated Tetrahedron


Augmented Truncated Tetrahedron

Augmented Truncated Cube


Augmented Truncated Cube

Biaugmented Truncated Cube


Biaugmented Truncated Cube

Augmented Truncated Dodecahedron


Augmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Parabiaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron


Parabiaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Metabiaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron


Metabiaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Triaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron


Triaugmented Truncated Dodecahedron

Gyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron


Gyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Parabigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron


Parabigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Metabigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron


Metabigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Trigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron


Trigyrate Rhombicosidodecahedron

Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Paragyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Paragyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Metagyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Metagyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Bigyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Bigyrate Diminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Parabidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Parabidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Metabidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Metabidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Gyrate Bidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Gyrate Bidiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Tridiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron


Tridiminished Rhombicosidodecahedron

Snub Disphenoid


Snub Disphenoid

Snub Square Antiprism


Snub Square Antiprism

Sphenocorona


Sphenocorona

Augmented Sphenocorona


Augmented Sphenocorona

Sphenomegacorona


Sphenomegacorona

Hebesphenomegacorona


Hebesphenomegacorona

Disphenocingulum


Disphenocingulum

Bilunabirotunda


Bilunabirotunda

Triangular Hebesphenorotunda


Triangular Hebesphenorotunda


References

Uniform Polyhedra

For sake of completeness I list all "uniform polyhedra", which include the platonic and archimedean solids but additionally cover als the concave (non-convex) polyhedra which aren't suitable for habitat development.

Tetrahedron
Truncated Tetrahedron
Octahemioctahedron
Tetrahemihexahedron
Octahedron
Cube
Cuboctahedron
Truncated Octahedron
Truncated Cube
Rhombicuboctahedron
Truncated Cuboctahedron
Snub Cube
Small Cubicuboctahedron
Great Cubicuboctahedron
Cubohemioctahedron
Cubitruncated Cuboctahedron
Great Rhombicuboctahedron
Small Rhombihexahedron
Stellated Truncated Hexahedron
Great Truncated Cuboctahedron
Great Truncated Cuboctahedron
Icosahedron
Dodecahedron
Icosidodecahedron
Truncated Icosahedron
Truncated Dodecahedron
Rhombicosidodecahedron
Truncated Icosidodecahedron
Snub Dodecahedron
Small Ditrigonal Icosidodecahedron
Small Icosicosidodecahedron
Small Snub Icosicosidodecahedron
Small dodecicosidodecahedron
Small Stellated Dodecahedron
Great Dodecahedron
Dodecadodecahedron
Truncated Great Dodecahedron
Rhombidodecadodecahedron
Small Rhombidodecahedron
Snub Dodecadodecahedron
Ditrigonal Dodecadodecahedron
Great Ditrigonal Dodecicosidodecahedron
Small Ditrigonal Dodecicosidodecahedron
Icosidodecadodecahedron
Icositruncated Dodecadodecahedron
Snub Icosidodecadodecahedron
Great Ditrigonal Icosidodecahedron
Great Icosicosidodecahedron
Small Icosihemidodecahedron
Small Dodecicosahedron
Small Dodecahemidodecahedron
Great Stellated Dodecahedron
Great Icosahedron
Great Icosidodecahedron
Great Truncated Icosahedron
Rhombicosahedron
Great Snub Icosidodecahedron
Small Stellated Truncated Dodecahedron
Truncated Dodecadodecahedron
Inverted Snub Dodecadodecahedron
Great Dodecicosidodecahedron
Small Dodecahemicosahedron
Great Dodecicosahedron
Great Snub Dodecicosidodecahedron
Great Dodecahemicosahedron
Great Stellated Truncated Dodecahedron
Great Rhombicosidodecahedron
Great Truncated Icosidodecahedron
Great Inverted Snub Icosidodecahedron
Great Dodecahemidodecahedron
Great Icosihemidodecahedron
Small Retrosnub Icosicosidodecahedron
Great Rhombidodecahedron
Great Retrosnub Icosidodecahedron
Great Dirhombicosidodecahedron
Pentagonal Prism
Pentagonal Antiprism
Pentagrammic Prism
Pentagrammic Antiprism
Pentagrammic Crossed Antiprism

References

Waterman Polyhedra

Waterman polyhedra exist in mathematics since about 1990, a rather recent discovery. The concept of Waterman polyhedra was developed by Steve Waterman and relate to "Cubic Close Packing" (CCP) of spheres, also known as IVM (Isotropic Vector Matrix) by R. Buckminster Fuller.

Spheres are packed in a cubic manner:

and then those removed which have longer vector than √(2*n) from the center (0,0,0) and then a convex hull is calculated which gives a polyhedron:


Waterman W24 O1 (radius √48)

Waterman W24 O1

Some More Examples

Waterman W1 O1 (radius √2)
Waterman W5 O1 (radius √10)
Waterman W24 O1 (radius √48)
Waterman W200 O1 (radius √400)
Waterman W1000 O1 (radius √2000)

Waterman W1 O1
Waterman W5 O1
Waterman W24 O1
Waterman W200 O1
Waterman W1000 O1

Different Origins

Several origins are available as summarized by Mirek Majewski :

Origin Origin Location radius Comment
1 0,0,0 √(2*n) Atom center: traditional origin of Waterman polyhedra, symmetry properties of a cube.
2 1/2,1/2,0 √(2+4*n)/2 Touch point between 2 atoms: symmetry properties of flat rectangle whose top & bottom faces are the same
3 1/3,1/3,2/3 √(6*(n+1))/3 Void center between 3 atoms: symmetry properties of flat triangle whose top & bottom faces are different
3* 1/3,1/3,1/3 √(3+6*n)/3 Void center between 3 lattice voids: same symmetry of origin 3.
4 1/2,1/2,1/2 √(3+8*(n-1))/2 Tretrahedron void center between 4 atoms: symmetry properties of a tetrahedron.
5 0,0,1/2 √(1+4*n)/2 5 atoms: symmetry properties of a flat rectangle whose top & bottom are different.
6 1,0,0 √(1+2*(n-1)) Octahedral void center between 6 atoms: symmetry properties of a cube.
7 Origins of Waterman Polyhedra by Mark Newbold

whereas n starts with 1 for all origins.

O1O2O3O3*O4O5O6
W1
W2
W3
W4
W5
W6
W7
W8
W9
W10

Features of Waterman Polyhedra

So the nice thing is, the creation of the polyhedra is done parametrically, in other words, systematically. Needless to say, there are infinite of Waterman polyhedra, and interestingly there are doubles to be encountered, where:

Those are not yet removed in the overview which follows.

Platonic & Archimedean Solids vs Waterman Polyhedra

The Waterman Polyhedra (WP) covers also some of the platonic and archimedean solids. For sake of this comparison the WP are normalized, as W2 O1 has a different size/volume than W1 O6, but the same form of a Octahedron.

Platonic Solids


Waterman W1 O4

Waterman W2 O1

Waterman W2 O6
W1 O3* = W2 O3* = W1 O3 = W1 O4 = Tretrahedron W2 O1 = W1 O6 = Octahedron W2 O6 = Cube

Icosahedron and Dodecahedron have no WP representation.

Archimedean Solids


Waterman W1 O1

Waterman W10 O1

Waterman W2 O4
W1 O1 = W4 O1 = Cuboctahedron W10 O1 = Truncated Octahedron W4 O3 = W2 O4 = Truncated Tetrahedron

The following look like archimedean solids, but they are not:

Waterman W7 O1

Waterman W3 O1
W7 O1 != Truncated Cuboctahedron W3 O1 = W12 O1 != Rhombicuboctahedron

as they are not having one length of edge, but two lengths of edges.

The others have no WP representation.

The Generalized Waterman Polyhedra (GWP) are currently still sorted by Steve Waterman, and I will include them later as they may cover more platonic and archimedean solids.

References