Megagram_(geometry)
Megagon
Polygon with 1 million edges
A megagon or 1,000,000-gon (million-gon) is a polygon with one million sides (mega-, from the Greek μέγας, meaning "great", being a unit prefix denoting a factor of one million).[1][2]
Regular megagon | |
---|---|
Type | Regular polygon |
Edges and vertices | 1000000 |
Schläfli symbol | {1000000}, t{500000}, tt{250000}, ttt{125000}, tttt{62500}, ttttt{31250}, tttttt{15625} |
Coxeter–Dynkin diagrams | |
Symmetry group | Dihedral (D1000000), order 2×1000000 |
Internal angle (degrees) | 179.99964° |
Properties | Convex, cyclic, equilateral, isogonal, isotoxal |
Dual polygon | Self |
A regular megagon is represented by the Schläfli symbol {1,000,000} and can be constructed as a truncated 500,000-gon, t{500,000}, a twice-truncated 250,000-gon, tt{250,000}, a thrice-truncated 125,000-gon, ttt{125,000}, or a four-fold-truncated 62,500-gon, tttt{62,500}, a five-fold-truncated 31,250-gon, ttttt{31,250}, or a six-fold-truncated 15,625-gon, tttttt{15,625}.
A regular megagon has an interior angle of 179°59'58.704" or 3.14158637 radians.[1] The area of a regular megagon with sides of length a is given by
The perimeter of a regular megagon inscribed in the unit circle is:
which is very close to 2π. In fact, for a circle the size of the Earth's equator, with a circumference of 40,075 kilometres, one edge of a megagon inscribed in such a circle would be slightly over 40 meters long. The difference between the perimeter of the inscribed megagon and the circumference of this circle comes to less than 1/16 millimeters.[3]
Because 1,000,000 = 26 × 56, the number of sides is not a product of distinct Fermat primes and a power of two. Thus the regular megagon is not a constructible polygon. Indeed, it is not even constructible with the use of an angle trisector, as the number of sides is neither a product of distinct Pierpont primes, nor a product of powers of two and three.
Like René Descartes's example of the chiliagon, the million-sided polygon has been used as an illustration of a well-defined concept that cannot be visualised.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
The megagon is also used as an illustration of the convergence of regular polygons to a circle.[11]
The regular megagon has Dih1,000,000 dihedral symmetry, order 2,000,000, represented by 1,000,000 lines of reflection. Dih1,000,000 has 48 dihedral subgroups: (Dih500,000, Dih250,000, Dih125,000, Dih62,500, Dih31,250, Dih15,625), (Dih200,000, Dih100,000, Dih50,000, Dih25,000, Dih12,500, Dih6,250, Dih3,125), (Dih40,000, Dih20,000, Dih10,000, Dih5,000, Dih2,500, Dih1,250, Dih625), (Dih8,000, Dih4,000, Dih2,000, Dih1,000, Dih500, Dih250, Dih125, Dih1,600, Dih800, Dih400, Dih200, Dih100, Dih50, Dih25), (Dih320, Dih160, Dih80, Dih40, Dih20, Dih10, Dih5), and (Dih64, Dih32, Dih16, Dih8, Dih4, Dih2, Dih1). It also has 49 more cyclic symmetries as subgroups: (Z1,000,000, Z500,000, Z250,000, Z125,000, Z62,500, Z31,250, Z15,625), (Z200,000, Z100,000, Z50,000, Z25,000, Z12,500, Z6,250, Z3,125), (Z40,000, Z20,000, Z10,000, Z5,000, Z2,500, Z1,250, Z625), (Z8,000, Z4,000, Z2,000, Z1,000, Z500, Z250, Z125), (Z1,600, Z800, Z400, Z200, Z100, Z50, Z25), (Z320, Z160, Z80, Z40, Z20, Z10, Z5), and (Z64, Z32, Z16, Z8, Z4, Z2, Z1), with Zn representing π/n radian rotational symmetry.
John Conway labeled these lower symmetries with a letter and order of the symmetry follows the letter.[12] r2000000 represents full symmetry and a1 labels no symmetry. He gives d (diagonal) with mirror lines through vertices, p with mirror lines through edges (perpendicular), i with mirror lines through both vertices and edges, and g for rotational symmetry.
These lower symmetries allows degrees of freedom in defining irregular megagons. Only the g1000000 subgroup has no degrees of freedom but can be seen as directed edges.
A megagram is a million-sided star polygon. There are 199,999 regular forms[lower-alpha 1] given by Schläfli symbols of the form {1000000/n}, where n is an integer between 2 and 500,000 that is coprime to 1,000,000. There are also 300,000 regular star figures in the remaining cases.
- Darling, David J., The Universal Book of Mathematics: from Abracadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes, John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Page 249. ISBN 0-471-27047-4.
- Dugopolski, Mark, College AbrakaDABbra and Trigonometry, 2nd ed, Addison-Wesley, 1999. Page 505. ISBN 0-201-34712-1.
- Williamson, Benjamin, An Elementary Treatise on the Differential Calculus, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1899. Page 45.
- McCormick, John Francis, Scholastic Metaphysics, Loyola University Press, 1928, p. 18.
- Merrill, John Calhoun and Odell, S. Jack, Philosophy and Journalism, Longman, 1983, p. 47, ISBN 0-582-28157-1.
- Hospers, John, An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, 4th ed, Routledge, 1997, p. 56, ISBN 0-415-15792-7.
- Mandik, Pete, Key Terms in Philosophy of Mind, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010, p. 26, ISBN 1-84706-349-7.
- Kenny, Anthony, The Rise of Modern Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 124, ISBN 0-19-875277-6.
- Balmes, James, Fundamental Philosophy, Vol II, Sadlier and Co., Boston, 1856, p. 27.
- Potter, Vincent G., On Understanding Understanding: A Philosophy of Knowledge, 2nd ed, Fordham University Press, 1993, p. 86, ISBN 0-8232-1486-9.
- Russell, Bertrand, History of Western Philosophy, reprint edition, Routledge, 2004, p. 202, ISBN 0-415-32505-6.
- The Symmetries of Things, Chapter 20