# Truncated icosahedron

Truncated icosahedron

Type Archimedean solid
Uniform polyhedron
Elements F = 32, E = 90, V = 60 (χ = 2)
Faces by sides 12{5}+20{6}
Schläfli symbol t{3,5}
Wythoff symbol 2 5 | 3
Coxeter diagram
Symmetry group Ih, H3, [5,3], (*532), order 120
Rotation group I, [5,3]+, (532), order 60
Dihedral Angle 6-6:138.189685°
6-5:142.62°
References U25, C27, W9
Properties Semiregular convex

Colored faces

5.6.6
(Vertex figure)

Pentakis dodecahedron
(dual polyhedron)

Net

In geometry, the truncated icosahedron is an Archimedean solid, one of thirteen convex isogonal nonprismatic solids whose faces are two or more types of regular polygons.

It has 12 regular pentagonal faces, 20 regular hexagonal faces, 60 vertices and 90 edges.

## Construction

This polyhedron can be constructed from an icosahedron with the 12 vertices truncated (cut off) such that one third of each edge is cut off at each of both ends. This creates 12 new pentagon faces, and leaves the original 20 triangle faces as regular hexagons. Thus the length of the edges is one third of that of the original edges.

## Cartesian coordinates

Cartesian coordinates for the vertices of a truncated icosahedron centered at the origin are all even permutations of:

(0, ±1, ±3φ)
(±2, ±(1+2φ), ±φ)
(±1, ±(2+φ), ±2φ)

where φ = (1 + √5) / 2 is the golden mean. Using φ2 = φ + 1 one verifies that all vertices are on a sphere, centered at the origin, with the radius squared equal to 9φ + 10. The edges have length 2.[1]

## Orthogonal projections

The truncated icosahedron has five special orthogonal projections, centered, on a vertex, on two types of edges, and two types of faces: hexagonal and pentagonal. The last two correspond to the A2 and H2 Coxeter planes.

Orthogonal projections
Centered by Vertex Edge
5-6
Edge
6-6
Face
Hexagon
Face
Pentagon
Image
Projective
symmetry
[2] [2] [2] [6] [10]

## Dimensions

Mutually orthogonal golden rectangles drawn into the original icosahedron (before cut off)

If the edge length of a truncated icosahedron is a, the radius of a circumscribed sphere (one that touches the truncated icosahedron at all vertices) is:

$r_u = \frac{a}{2} \sqrt{1 + 9\varphi^2} = \frac{a}{4} \sqrt{58 +18\sqrt{5}} \approx 2.47801866 \cdot a$

where φ is the golden ratio.

This result is easy to get by using one of the three orthogonal golden rectangles drawn into the original icosahedron (before cut off) as the starting point for our considerations. The angle between the segments joining the center and the vertices connected by shared edge (calculated on the basis of this construction) is approx. 23.281446°.

## Area and volume

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

\begin{align} A & = \left ( 20 \cdot \frac32\sqrt{3} + 12 \cdot \frac54\sqrt{ 1 + 2/\sqrt{5}} \right ) a^2 \approx 72.607253a^2 \\ V & = \frac{1}{4} (125+43\sqrt{5}) a^3 \approx 55.2877308a^3. \\ \end{align}

## Geometric relations

The truncated icosahedron easily verifies the Euler characteristic:

32 + 60 − 90 = 2.

With unit edges, the surface area is (rounded) 21 for the pentagons and 52 for the hexagons, together 73 (see areas of regular polygons).

## Applications

The truncated icosahedron (left) compared to a soccer ball.
Fullerene C60 molecule
Truncated icosahedral radome on a weather station

The balls used in soccer and team handball are perhaps the best-known example of a spherical polyhedron analog to the truncated icosahedron, found in everyday life. [2] The ball comprises the same pattern of regular pentagons and regular hexagons, but it is more spherical due to the pressure of the air inside and the elasticity of the ball. This ball type was introduced in 1970; starting with the 2006 World Cup, the design has been superseded by newer patterns.

A variation of the icosahedron was used as the basis of the honeycomb wheels (made from a polycast material) used by the Pontiac Motor Division between 1971 to 1976 on its Trans Am and Grand Prix.

This shape was also the configuration of the lenses used for focusing the explosive shock waves of the detonators in both the gadget and Fat Man atomic bombs.[3]

The truncated icosahedron can also be described as a model of the Buckminsterfullerene (fullerene) (C60), or "buckyball," molecule, an allotrope of elemental carbon, discovered in 1985. The diameter of the soccer ball and the fullerene molecule are 22 cm and ca. 1 nm, respectively, hence the size ratio is 220,000,000:1.

The truncated icosahedron is also hypothesized in geology to be the driving force behind many tectonic fabrics on earth. According to the theory, since the shape is a close geometric analog to the shape of the earth,[dubious ] it can explain the trend of many different fracture and associated features in plate tectonic rifting and craton shape.[4][5]

## Truncated icosahedra in the arts

A truncated icosahedron with "solid edges" is a drawing by Lucas Pacioli illustrating The Divine Proportion.

## Related polyhedra

Family of uniform icosahedral polyhedra
Symmetry: [5,3], (*532) [5,3]+, (532)
{5,3} t0,1{5,3} t1{5,3} t0,1{3,5} {3,5} t0,2{5,3} t0,1,2{5,3} s{5,3}
Duals to uniform polyhedra
V5.5.5 V3.10.10 V3.5.3.5 V5.6.6 V3.3.3.3.3 V3.4.5.4 V4.6.10 V3.3.3.3.5
Dimensional family of truncated polyhedra and tilings: n.6.6
Symmetry
*n42
[n,3]
Spherical Euclidean Hyperbolic...
*232
[2,3]
D3h
*332
[3,3]
Td
*432
[4,3]
Oh
*532
[5,3]
Ih
*632
[6,3]
P6m
*732
[7,3]

*832
[8,3]...

*∞32
[∞,3]

Order 12 24 48 120
Truncated
figures

2.6.6

3.6.6

4.6.6

5.6.6

6.6.6

7.6.6

8.6.6

∞.6.6
Coxeter
Schläfli

t0,1{3,2}

t0,1{3,3}

t0,1{3,4}

t0,1{3,5}

t0,1{3,6}

t0,1{3,7}

t0,1{3,8}

t0,1{3,∞}
Uniform dual figures
n-kis
figures

V2.6.6

V3.6.6

V4.6.6

V5.6.6

V6.6.6

V7.6.6

V8.6.6

V∞.6.6
Coxeter

These uniform star-polyhedra, and one icosahedral stellation have nonuniform truncated icosahedra convex hulls:

 Nonuniform Nonuniform Nonuniform truncated icosahedron truncated icosahedron truncated icosahedron 2 5 | 3 2 5 | 3 2 5 | 3 U37 2 5/2 | 5 U61 5/2 3 | 5/3 U67 5/3 3 | 2 U73 2 5/3 (3/2 5/4) Complete stellation U38 5/2 5 | 2 U44 5/3 5 | 3 U56 2 3 (5/4 5/2) | U32 | 5/2 3 3