600-cell | RobertLovesPi.net

The Hyperspace Analog of the Dodecahedron/Icosahedron Compound

Image

The Hyperspace Analog of the Dodecahedron/Icosahedron Compound

The dodecahedron and the icosahedron are dual to each other, and can be combined to make this well-known compound.

In hyperspace, the analog to the dodecahedron is the hyperdodecahedron, also known as the 120-cell, as well as the hecatonicosachoron. Its dual is the 600-cell, or hexacosichoron, made of 600 tetrahedral cells. The image at the top is the compound of these two polychora, rotating in hyperspace.

These images were made using Stella 4d, available at http://www.software3d.com/Stella.php.

600 Undulating Tetrahedra

Image

600 Undulating Tetrahedra

This is a 600-cell, one of the regular polychora (four-dimensional polytopes), with its edges and vertices rendered invisible, and its cells shrunk so that they do not touch. It’s rotating in hyperspace, and what you are seeing at any given moment is a particular three-dimensional “shadow,” or projection, of the entire figure.

It’s easy to make this sort of thing with software called Stella 4d, written by an Australian friend of mine. Here’s a link to a site where you can try it, as a free trial download, before deciding whether or not to purchase the fully-functioning version: http://www.software3d.com/Stella.php.

Another View of the 600-Cell

Image

Not long ago, I posted one rotating projection of the regular polytope known as the 600-cell. Here is another.

Software used: see http://www.software3d.com/stella.php.

The 600-Cell

Image

This regular 4-d polytope is made of 600 tetrahedral unit cells. It is rotating in hyperspace, continually changing the three-dimensional “slice” of it which you can see. The software used to make this image may be purchased, or tried for free, at http://www.software3d.com/Stella.php.