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Hexagon




In Geometry , a hexagon is a Polygon with six Edge s and six Vertices . Its Schläfli Symbol is {6}.

The internal Angle s of a regular hexagon (one where all sides and all angles are equal) are all
120 ° . Like Square s and Equilateral Triangle s, regular hexagons fit together without any gaps to tile the plane (three hexagons meeting at every vertex), and so are useful for constructing Tessellation s.
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 a\,\! is given by
A = rac{3}{2}a^2 \cot rac{\pi}{6} = rac{3 \sqrt{3}}{2}a^2 \simeq 2.59808 a^2.

The circumference of a hexagon of side length a\,\! is, of course, 6a\,\!, its maximal diameter 2a\,\!, and its minimal diameter \sqrt{3}a\,\!.

There is no Platonic Solid made of regular hexagons. The Archimedean Solid s with some hexagonal faces are the Truncated Tetrahedron , Truncated Octahedron , Truncated Icosahedron (of Soccer ball and Fullerene fame), Truncated Cuboctahedron and the Truncated Icosidodecahedron .

In French , the term ''l'hexagone'' (the hexagon) is often used as a nickname for France , since the country is shaped somewhat like a hexagon.


HEXAGON CONSTRUCTION

A regular hexagon is Constructible with Compass And Straightedge . The following is a step-by-step animated method of this, given by Euclid 's '' Elements '', Book IV, Proposition 15.


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