The Platonic Solids.
Date Submitted: 04/29/2002 14:50:11
Category: / Science & Technology / Mathematics
Length: 2 pages (412 words)
Category: / Science & Technology / Mathematics
Length: 2 pages (412 words)
THE PLATONIC SOLIDS
The Platonic Solids are the regular polyhedrons. There are only five of them. They are the tetrahedron, hexahedron (cube), octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron. The first three mentioned have been known since ancient times. The remaining two plus the original three were definitely known by the Pythagoreans. Plato believed that the elements were shaped like the platonic solids; that they were the solids.
The tetrahedron represents fire since fire is the lightest element …
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…the icosahedron is the easiest to roll, as is water.
That is why the five platonic solids represent what they do. As a side note, some of these elements can be recomposed into others :
1 water = 2 air + 1 fire. The element of the earth cannot do this, and the dodecahedron isn't a true element to begin with, being that it's the cosmos, so it also can't be reconfigured. But then again, isn't everything part of the cosmos?................
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