Equilateral polygon
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In geometry, an equilateral polygon is a polygon which has all sides of the same length.
All regular polygons and isotoxal polygons are equilateral.
An equilateral triangle is a regular triangle and 60 degree internal angles.
An equilateral quadrilateral is called a rhombus, an isotoxal polygon described by an angle α. It includes the square as a special case.
A convex equilateral pentagon can be described by two angles α and β with α ≥ β provided the fourth angle (δ) is the smallest of the rest of the angles. concave equilateral pentagons exist, as do concave equilateral polygons with any larger number of sides.
An equilateral polygon which is cyclic (its vertices are on a circle) is a regular polygon (a polygon that is both equilateral and equiangular).
A tangential polygon (one that has an incircle tangent to all its sides) is equilateral if and only if the alternate angles are equal (that is, angles 1, 3, 5, ... are equal and angles 2, 4, ... are equal). Thus if the number of sides n is odd, a tangential polygon is equilateral if and only if it is regular.[1]
Viviani's theorem generalizes to equilateral polygons.[2]
The principal diagonals of a hexagon each divide the hexagon into quadrilaterals. In any convex equilateral hexagon with common side a, there exists[3]: p.184, #286.3 a principal diagonal d1 such that
and a principal diagonal d2 such that
Triambi
Triambi, which are equilateral hexagons with trigonal symmetry:
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Concave
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Self-intersecting
References
- ^ De Villiers, Michael (March 2011), "Equi-angled cyclic and equilateral circumscribed polygons" (PDF), Mathematical Gazette, 95: 102–107.
- ^ De Villiers, Michael, "An illustration of the explanatory and discovery functions of proof", Leonardo, 33 (3): 1–8,
explaining (proving) Viviani's theorem for an equilateral triangle by determining the area of the three triangles it is divided up into, and noticing the 'common factor' of the equal sides of these triangles as bases, may allow one to immediately see that the result generalises to any equilateral polygon
. - ^ Inequalities proposed in “Crux Mathematicorum”, [1].
External links
- Equilateral triangle With interactive animation
- A Property of Equiangular Polygons: What Is It About? a discussion of Viviani's theorem at Cut-the-knot.