Tessellation
lastmod 2019-07-25created 2019-07-252 edits
Tessellation (native Korean term: jjokmae-matchum) is the arrangement of plane figures so that they neither overlap nor leave gaps. Among regular polygons, the ones that can tile the plane are the equilateral triangle, the square, and the regular hexagon. Examples of tessellation around us include ceilings, buildings, fabrics, carpets, and wallpaper. Tessellations come in regular, semi-regular, and irregular types.
Types
Regular tessellation
A regular tessellation is a tessellation made of only one kind of regular polygon, and there are 3 cases in total:
- Tessellation with equilateral triangles
- Tessellation with squares
- Tessellation with regular hexagons
Semi-regular tessellation
A semi-regular tessellation is a tessellation made of two or more kinds of regular polygons in which the number and arrangement of polygons meeting at each vertex are the same, and there are 8 cases in total.
Irregular tessellation
An irregular tessellation is a tessellation made of various plane figures in which the arrangement of regular polygons meeting at each vertex differs from vertex to vertex.