# Antiprism

Last updated
Set of uniform n-gonal antiprisms
Uniform hexagonal antiprism (n = 6)
Type uniform in the sense of semiregular polyhedron
Faces 2 regular n-gons
2n equilateral triangles
Edges 4n
Vertices 2n
Vertex configuration 3.3.3.n
Schläfli symbol { }⊗{n} [1]
s{2,2n}
sr{2,n}
Conway notation An
Coxeter diagram
Symmetry group Dnd, [2+,2n], (2*n), order 4n
Rotation group Dn, [2,n]+, (22n), order 2n
Dual polyhedron convex dual-uniform n-gonal trapezohedron
Properties convex, vertex-transitive, regular polygon faces, congruent & coaxial bases
Net
Net of uniform enneagonal antiprism (n = 9)

In geometry, an n-gonal antiprism or n-antiprism is a polyhedron composed of two parallel direct copies (not mirror images) of an n-sided polygon, connected by an alternating band of 2n triangles. They are represented by the Conway notation An.

## Contents

Antiprisms are a subclass of prismatoids, and are a (degenerate) type of snub polyhedron.

Antiprisms are similar to prisms, except that the bases are twisted relatively to each other, and that the side faces (connecting the bases) are 2n triangles, rather than n quadrilaterals.

The dual polyhedron of an n-gonal antiprism is an n-gonal trapezohedron.

## History

At the intersection of modern-day graph theory and coding theory, the triangulation of a set of points have interested mathematicians since Isaac Newton, who fruitlessly sought a mathematical proof of the kissing number problem in 1694. [2] The existence of antiprisms was discussed, and their name was coined by Johannes Kepler, though it is possible that they were previously known to Archimedes, as they satisfy the same conditions on faces and on vertices as the Archimedean solids.[ citation needed ] According to Ericson and Zinoviev, Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter wrote at length on the topic, [2] and was among the first to apply the mathematics of Victor Schlegel to this field.

Knowledge in this field is "quite incomplete" and "was obtained fairly recently", i.e. in the 20th century[ citation needed ]. For example, as of 2001 it had been proven for only a limited number of non-trivial cases that the n-gonal antiprism is the mathematically optimal arrangement of 2n points in the sense of maximizing the minimum Euclidean distance between any two points on the set: in 1943 by László Fejes Tóth for 4 and 6 points (digonal and trigonal antiprisms, which are Platonic solids); in 1951 by Kurt Schütte and Bartel Leendert van der Waerden for 8 points (tetragonal antiprism, which is not a cube). [2]

The chemical structure of binary compounds has been remarked to be in the family of antiprisms; [3] especially those of the family of boron hydrides (in 1975) and carboranes because they are isoelectronic. This is a mathematically real conclusion reached by studies of X-ray diffraction patterns, [4] and stems from the 1971 work of Kenneth Wade, [5] the nominative source for Wade's rules of polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory.

Rare-earth metals such as the lanthanides form antiprismatic compounds with some of the halides or some of the iodides. The study of crystallography is useful here. [6] Some lanthanides, when arranged in peculiar antiprismatic structures with chlorine and water, can form molecule-based magnets. [7]

## Right antiprism

For an antiprism with regular n-gon bases, one usually considers the case where these two copies are twisted by an angle of 180/n degrees.

The axis of a regular polygon is the line perpendicular to the polygon plane and lying in the polygon centre.

For an antiprism with congruent regularn-gon bases, twisted by an angle of 180/n degrees, more regularity is obtained if the bases have the same axis: are coaxial ; i.e. (for non-coplanar bases): if the line connecting the base centers is perpendicular to the base planes. Then the antiprism is called a right antiprism, and its 2n side faces are isosceles triangles.

## Uniform antiprism

A uniform n-antiprism has two congruent regular n-gons as base faces, and 2n equilateral triangles as side faces.

Uniform antiprisms form an infinite class of vertex-transitive polyhedra, as do uniform prisms. For n = 2, we have the regular tetrahedron as a digonal antiprism (degenerate antiprism); for n = 3, the regular octahedron as a triangular antiprism (non-degenerate antiprism).

Family of uniform n-gonal antiprisms
Antiprism name Digonal antiprism (Trigonal)
Triangular antiprism
(Tetragonal)
Square antiprism
Pentagonal antiprism Hexagonal antiprism Heptagonal antiprism Octagonal antiprism Enneagonal antiprism Decagonal antiprism Hendecagonal antiprismDodecagonal antiprism... Apeirogonal antiprism
Polyhedron image ...
Spherical tiling image Plane tiling image
Vertex config. 2.3.3.33.3.3.34.3.3.35.3.3.36.3.3.37.3.3.38.3.3.39.3.3.310.3.3.311.3.3.312.3.3.3...∞.3.3.3

### Schlegel diagrams

 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8

## Cartesian coordinates

Cartesian coordinates for the vertices of a right n-antiprism (i.e. with regular n-gon bases and 2n isosceles triangle side faces) are:

${\displaystyle \left(\cos {\frac {k\pi }{n}},\sin {\frac {k\pi }{n}},(-1)^{k}h\right)}$

where 0 ≤ k ≤ 2n – 1;

if the n-antiprism is uniform (i.e. if the triangles are equilateral), then:

${\displaystyle 2h^{2}=\cos {\frac {\pi }{n}}-\cos {\frac {2\pi }{n}}.}$

## Volume and surface area

Let a be the edge-length of a uniform n-gonal antiprism; then the volume is:

${\displaystyle V={\frac {n~{\sqrt {4\cos ^{2}{\frac {\pi }{2n}}-1}}\sin {\frac {3\pi }{2n}}}{12\sin ^{2}{\frac {\pi }{n}}}}~a^{3},}$

and the surface area is:

${\displaystyle A={\frac {n}{2}}\left(\cot {\frac {\pi }{n}}+{\sqrt {3}}\right)a^{2}.}$

There are an infinite set of truncated antiprisms, including a lower-symmetry form of the truncated octahedron (truncated triangular antiprism). These can be alternated to create snub antiprisms, two of which are Johnson solids, and the snub triangular antiprism is a lower symmetry form of the regular icosahedron.

Antiprisms
...
s{2,4} s{2,6} s{2,8} s{2,10} s{2,2n}
Truncated antiprisms
...
ts{2,4} ts{2,6} ts{2,8}ts{2,10}ts{2,2n}
Snub antiprisms
J84IcosahedronJ85Irregular faces...
...
ss{2,4} ss{2,6} ss{2,8} ss{2,10} ss{2,2n}

## Symmetry

The symmetry group of a right n-antiprism (i.e. with regular bases and isosceles side faces) is Dnd = Dnv of order 4n, except in the cases of:

• n = 2: the regular tetrahedron, which has the larger symmetry group Td of order 24 = 3×(4×2), which has three versions of D2d as subgroups;
• n = 3: the regular octahedron, which has the larger symmetry group Oh of order 48 = 4×(4×3), which has four versions of D3d as subgroups.

The symmetry group contains inversion if and only if n is odd.

The rotation group is Dn of order 2n, except in the cases of:

• n = 2: the regular tetrahedron, which has the larger rotation group T of order 12 = 3×(2×2), which has three versions of D2 as subgroups;
• n = 3: the regular octahedron, which has the larger rotation group O of order 24 = 4×(2×3), which has four versions of D3 as subgroups.

Note: The right n-antiprisms have congruent regular n-gon bases and congruent isosceles triangle side faces, thus have the same (dihedral) symmetry group as the uniform n-antiprism, for n ≥ 4.

## Star antiprism

 5/2-antiprism 5/3-antiprism 9/2-antiprism 9/4-antiprism 9/5-antiprism

Uniform star antiprisms are named by their star polygon bases, {p/q}, and exist in prograde and in retrograde (crossed) solutions. Crossed forms have intersecting vertex figures, and are denoted by "inverted" fractions: p/(p  q) instead of p/q; example: 5/3 instead of 5/2.

A right star antiprism has two congruent coaxial regular convex or star polygon base faces, and 2n isosceles triangle side faces.

Any star antiprism with regular convex or star polygon bases can be made a right star antiprism (by translating and/or twisting one of its bases, if necessary).

In the retrograde forms but not in the prograde forms, the triangles joining the convex or star bases intersect the axis of rotational symmetry. Thus:

• Retrograde star antiprisms with regular convex polygon bases cannot have all equal edge lengths, so cannot be uniform. "Exception": a retrograde star antiprism with equilateral triangle bases (vertex configuration: 3.3/2.3.3) can be uniform; but then, it has the appearance of an equilateral triangle: it is a degenerate star polyhedron.
• Similarly, some retrograde star antiprisms with regular star polygon bases cannot have all equal edge lengths, so cannot be uniform. Example: a retrograde star antiprism with regular star 7/5-gon bases (vertex configuration: 3.3.3.7/5) cannot be uniform.

Also, star antiprism compounds with regular star p/q-gon bases can be constructed if p and q have common factors. Example: a star 10/4-antiprism is the compound of two star 5/2-antiprisms.

## Related Research Articles

A (symmetric) n-gonal bipyramid or dipyramid is a polyhedron formed by joining an n-gonal pyramid and its mirror image base-to-base. An n-gonal bipyramid has 2n triangle faces, 3n edges, and 2 + n vertices.

In geometry, an octahedron is a polyhedron with eight faces. The term is most commonly used to refer to the regular octahedron, a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex.

In geometry, a Platonic solid is a convex, regular polyhedron in three-dimensional Euclidean space. Being a regular polyhedron means that the faces are congruent regular polygons, and the same number of faces meet at each vertex. There are only five such polyhedra:

In geometry, a prism is a polyhedron comprising an n-sided polygon base, a second base which is a translated copy of the first, and n other faces, necessarily all parallelograms, joining corresponding sides of the two bases. All cross-sections parallel to the bases are translations of the bases. Prisms are named after their bases, e.g. a prism with a pentagonal base is called a pentagonal prism. Prisms are a subclass of prismatoids.

In geometry, a decagon is a ten-sided polygon or 10-gon. The total sum of the interior angles of a simple decagon is 1440°.

In Euclidean geometry, a regular polygon is a polygon that is direct equiangular and equilateral. Regular polygons may be either convex, star or skew. In the limit, a sequence of regular polygons with an increasing number of sides approximates a circle, if the perimeter or area is fixed, or a regular apeirogon, if the edge length is fixed.

In geometry, a heptagon or septagon is a seven-sided polygon or 7-gon.

In geometry, a dodecagon or 12-gon is any twelve-sided polygon.

In geometry, the triangular bipyramid is a type of hexahedron, being the first in the infinite set of face-transitive bipyramids. It is the dual of the triangular prism with 6 isosceles triangle faces.

In geometry, a cupola is a solid formed by joining two polygons, one with twice as many edges as the other, by an alternating band of isosceles triangles and rectangles. If the triangles are equilateral and the rectangles are squares, while the base and its opposite face are regular polygons, the triangular, square, and pentagonal cupolae all count among the Johnson solids, and can be formed by taking sections of the cuboctahedron, rhombicuboctahedron, and rhombicosidodecahedron, respectively.

In geometry, an n-gonaltrapezohedron, n-trapezohedron, n-antidipyramid, n-antibipyramid, or n-deltohedron is the dual polyhedron of an n-gonal antiprism. The 2n faces of an n-trapezohedron are congruent and symmetrically staggered; they are called twisted kites. With a higher symmetry, its 2n faces are kites.

The triaugmented triangular prism, in geometry, is a convex polyhedron with 14 equilateral triangles as its faces. It can be constructed from a triangular prism by attaching equilateral square pyramids to each of its three square faces. The same shape is also called the tetrakis triangular prism, tricapped trigonal prism, tetracaidecadeltahedron, or tetrakaidecadeltahedron; these last names mean a polyhedron with 14 triangular faces. It is an example of a deltahedron and of a Johnson solid.

In geometry, the gyrobifastigium is the 26th Johnson solid. It can be constructed by joining two face-regular triangular prisms along corresponding square faces, giving a quarter-turn to one prism. It is the only Johnson solid that can tile three-dimensional space.

In geometry, a uniform 4-polytope is a 4-dimensional polytope which is vertex-transitive and whose cells are uniform polyhedra, and faces are regular polygons.

In geometry, a uniform polyhedron has regular polygons as faces and is vertex-transitive. It follows that all vertices are congruent.

In geometry, the square antiprism is the second in an infinite family of antiprisms formed by an even-numbered sequence of triangle sides closed by two polygon caps. It is also known as an anticube.

In geometry, the hexagonal antiprism is the 4th in an infinite set of antiprisms formed by an even-numbered sequence of triangle sides closed by two polygon caps.

In geometry, a pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting a polygonal base and a point, called the apex. Each base edge and apex form a triangle, called a lateral face. It is a conic solid with polygonal base. A pyramid with an n-sided base has n + 1 vertices, n + 1 faces, and 2n edges. All pyramids are self-dual.

In geometry, a prismatic compound of antiprism is a category of uniform polyhedron compound. Each member of this infinite family of uniform polyhedron compounds is a symmetric arrangement of antiprisms sharing a common axis of rotational symmetry.

In geometry, an icosahedron is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes from Ancient Greek εἴκοσι (eíkosi) 'twenty' and from Ancient Greek ἕδρα (hédra) ' seat'. The plural can be either "icosahedra" or "icosahedrons".

## References

1. N.W. Johnson: Geometries and Transformations, (2018) ISBN   978-1-107-10340-5 Chapter 11: Finite symmetry groups, 11.3 Pyramids, Prisms, and Antiprisms, Figure 11.3c
2. Ericson, Thomas; Zinoviev, Victor (2001). "Codes in dimension n = 3". Codes on Euclidean Spheres. North-Holland Mathematical Library. Vol. 63. pp. 67–106. doi:10.1016/S0924-6509(01)80048-9. ISBN   9780444503299.
3. Beall, Herbert; Gaines, Donald F. (2003). "Boron Hydrides". Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology. pp. 301–316. doi:10.1016/B0-12-227410-5/00073-9. ISBN   9780122274107.
4. “Boron Hydride Chemistry” (E. L. Muetterties, ed.), Academic Press, New York
5. Wade, K. (1971). "The structural significance of the number of skeletal bonding electron-pairs in carboranes, the higher boranes and borane anions, and various transition-metal carbonyl cluster compounds". J. Chem. Soc. D. 1971 (15): 792–793. doi:10.1039/C29710000792.
6. Meyer, Gerd (2014). [10.1016/B978-0-444-63256-2.00264-3 "Symbiosis of Intermetallic and Salt"]. Including Actinides. Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths. Vol. 45. pp. 111–178. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-63256-2.00264-3. ISBN   9780444632562.{{cite book}}: Check |chapter-url= value (help)
7. Bartolomé, Elena; Arauzo, Ana; Luzón, Javier; Bartolomé, Juan; Bartolomé, Fernando (2017). Magnetic Relaxation of Lanthanide-Based Molecular Magnets. Handbook of Magnetic Materials. Vol. 26. pp. 1–289. doi:10.1016/bs.hmm.2017.09.002. ISBN   9780444639271.

### Bibliography

• Anthony Pugh (1976). Polyhedra: A visual approach. California: University of California Press Berkeley. ISBN   0-520-03056-7. Chapter 2: Archimedean polyhedra, prisms and antiprisms