Hexagon

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

A hexagon is a polygon with 6 sides and 6 corners (vertices). Like regular triangles and squares, hexagons fit together without gaps, which are known as tessellations. 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.

Hexagons: in nature and by humankind

• 

  A beehive honeycomb

• 

  The scutes of a turtle's carapace

• 

  North polar hexagonal cloud feature on Saturn, discovered by Voyager 1 and confirmed in 2006 by Cassini [1] [2] [3]

• 

  Micrograph of a snowflake

• 

  Hexagonal floor tessellations (in Rome)

• 

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

• 

  An aerial view of Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park

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
• Saturn's Strange Hexagon
• A hexagonal feature around Saturn's North Pole
• "Bizarre Hexagon Spotted on Saturn" - from Space.com (27 March 2007)