Truncated cube

(Click here for rotating model)
Type Archimedean solid
Uniform polyhedron
Elements F = 14, E = 36, V = 24 (χ = 2)
Faces by sides 8{3}+6{8}
Conway notation tC
Schläfli symbols t{4,3}
t0,1{4,3}
Wythoff symbol 2 3 | 4
Coxeter diagram
Symmetry group Oh, B3, [4,3], (*432), order 48
Rotation group O, [4,3]+, (432), order 24
Dihedral angle 3-8: 125°15′51″
8-8: 90°
References U09, C21, W8
Properties Semiregular convex

Colored faces

3.8.8
(Vertex figure)

Triakis octahedron
(dual polyhedron)

Net

In geometry, the truncated cube, or truncated hexahedron, is an Archimedean solid. It has 14 regular faces (6 octagonal and 8 triangular), 36 edges, and 24 vertices.

3D model of a truncated cube

If the truncated cube has unit edge length, its dual triakis octahedron has edges of lengths 2 and 2 + 2.

Area and volume

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The area A and the volume V of a truncated cube of edge length a are:

 

Orthogonal projections

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The truncated cube has five special orthogonal projections, centered, on a vertex, on two types of edges, and two types of faces: triangles, and octagons. The last two correspond to the B2 and A2 Coxeter planes.

Orthogonal projections
Centered by Vertex Edge
3-8
Edge
8-8
Face
Octagon
Face
Triangle
Solid
 
   
Wireframe          
Dual          
Projective
symmetry
[2] [2] [2] [4] [6]

Spherical tiling

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The truncated cube can also be represented as a spherical tiling, and projected onto the plane via a stereographic projection. This projection is conformal, preserving angles but not areas or lengths. Straight lines on the sphere are projected as circular arcs on the plane.

   
octagon-centered
 
triangle-centered
Orthographic projection Stereographic projections

Cartesian coordinates

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A truncated cube with its octagonal faces pyritohedrally dissected with a central vertex into triangles and pentagons, creating a topological icosidodecahedron

Cartesian coordinates for the vertices of a truncated hexahedron centered at the origin with edge length 2ξ are all the permutations of

ξ, ±1, ±1),

where ξ = 2 − 1.

The parameter ξ can be varied between ±1. A value of 1 produces a cube, 0 produces a cuboctahedron, and negative values produces self-intersecting octagrammic faces.

 

If the self-intersected portions of the octagrams are removed, leaving squares, and truncating the triangles into hexagons, truncated octahedra are produced, and the sequence ends with the central squares being reduced to a point, and creating an octahedron.

Dissection

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Dissected truncated cube, with elements expanded apart

The truncated cube can be dissected into a central cube, with six square cupolae around each of the cube's faces, and 8 regular tetrahedra in the corners. This dissection can also be seen within the runcic cubic honeycomb, with cube, tetrahedron, and rhombicuboctahedron cells.

This dissection can be used to create a Stewart toroid with all regular faces by removing two square cupolae and the central cube. This excavated cube has 16 triangles, 12 squares, and 4 octagons.[1][2]

 

Vertex arrangement

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It shares the vertex arrangement with three nonconvex uniform polyhedra:

 
Truncated cube
 
Nonconvex great rhombicuboctahedron
 
Great cubicuboctahedron
 
Great rhombihexahedron
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The truncated cube is related to other polyhedra and tilings in symmetry.

The truncated cube is one of a family of uniform polyhedra related to the cube and regular octahedron.

Uniform octahedral polyhedra
Symmetry: [4,3], (*432) [4,3]+
(432)
[1+,4,3] = [3,3]
(*332)
[3+,4]
(3*2)
{4,3} t{4,3} r{4,3}
r{31,1}
t{3,4}
t{31,1}
{3,4}
{31,1}
rr{4,3}
s2{3,4}
tr{4,3} sr{4,3} h{4,3}
{3,3}
h2{4,3}
t{3,3}
s{3,4}
s{31,1}
                                                     
     
=    
     
=    
     
=    
            =
    or    
      =
    or    
      =
   
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
           
 
Duals to uniform polyhedra
V43 V3.82 V(3.4)2 V4.62 V34 V3.43 V4.6.8 V34.4 V33 V3.62 V35
                                                                 
                                         
                     

Symmetry mutations

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This polyhedron is topologically related as a part of sequence of uniform truncated polyhedra with vertex configurations (3.2n.2n), and [n,3] Coxeter group symmetry, and a series of polyhedra and tilings n.8.8.

*n32 symmetry mutation of truncated spherical tilings: t{n,3}
Symmetry
*n32
[n,3]
Spherical Euclid. Compact hyperb. Paraco.
*232
[2,3]
*332
[3,3]
*432
[4,3]
*532
[5,3]
*632
[6,3]
*732
[7,3]
*832
[8,3]...
*∞32
[∞,3]
Truncated
figures
               
Symbol t{2,3} t{3,3} t{4,3} t{5,3} t{6,3} t{7,3} t{8,3} t{∞,3}
Triakis
figures
               
Config. V3.4.4 V3.6.6 V3.8.8 V3.10.10 V3.12.12 V3.14.14 V3.16.16 V3.∞.∞
*n42 symmetry mutation of truncated tilings: n.8.8
Symmetry
*n42
[n,4]
Spherical Euclidean Compact hyperbolic Paracompact
*242
[2,4]
*342
[3,4]
*442
[4,4]
*542
[5,4]
*642
[6,4]
*742
[7,4]
*842
[8,4]...
*∞42
[∞,4]
Truncated
figures
               
Config. 2.8.8 3.8.8 4.8.8 5.8.8 6.8.8 7.8.8 8.8.8 ∞.8.8
n-kis
figures
               
Config. V2.8.8 V3.8.8 V4.8.8 V5.8.8 V6.8.8 V7.8.8 V8.8.8 V∞.8.8

Alternated truncation

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Tetrahedron, its edge truncation, and the truncated cube

Truncating alternating vertices of the cube gives the chamfered tetrahedron, i.e. the edge truncation of the tetrahedron.

The truncated triangular trapezohedron is another polyhedron which can be formed from cube edge truncation.

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The truncated cube, is second in a sequence of truncated hypercubes:

Truncated hypercubes
Image                     ...
Name Octagon Truncated cube Truncated tesseract Truncated 5-cube Truncated 6-cube Truncated 7-cube Truncated 8-cube
Coxeter diagram                                                                      
Vertex figure ( )v( )  
( )v{ }
 
( )v{3}
 
( )v{3,3}
( )v{3,3,3} ( )v{3,3,3,3} ( )v{3,3,3,3,3}

Truncated cubical graph

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Truncated cubical graph
 
4-fold symmetry Schlegel diagram
Vertices24
Edges36
Automorphisms48
Chromatic number3
PropertiesCubic, Hamiltonian, regular, zero-symmetric
Table of graphs and parameters

In the mathematical field of graph theory, a truncated cubical graph is the graph of vertices and edges of the truncated cube, one of the Archimedean solids. It has 24 vertices and 36 edges, and is a cubic Archimedean graph.[3]

 
Orthographic

See also

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References

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  1. ^ B. M. Stewart, Adventures Among the Toroids (1970) ISBN 978-0-686-11936-4
  2. ^ "Adventures Among the Toroids - Chapter 5 - Simplest (R)(A)(Q)(T) Toroids of genus p=1".
  3. ^ Read, R. C.; Wilson, R. J. (1998), An Atlas of Graphs, Oxford University Press, p. 269
  • Williams, Robert (1979). The Geometrical Foundation of Natural Structure: A Source Book of Design. Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-23729-X. (Section 3-9)
  • Cromwell, P. Polyhedra, CUP hbk (1997), pbk. (1999). Ch.2 p. 79-86 Archimedean solids
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