Triangular cupola explained

Type:Johnson
Edges:15
Vertices:9
Symmetry:

C3v

Vertex Config:

\begin{align} &6 x (3 x 4 x 6)+\\ &3 x (3 x 4 x 3 x 4) \end{align}

Net:Triangular cupola (symmetric net).svg

In geometry, the triangular cupola is the cupola with hexagon as its base and triangle as its top. If the edges are equal in length, the triangular cupola is the Johnson solid. It can be seen as half a cuboctahedron. The triangular cupola can be applied to construct many polyhedrons.

Properties

The triangular cupola has 4 triangles, 3 squares, and 1 hexagon as their faces; the hexagon is the base and one of the four triangles is the top. If all of the edges are equal in length, the triangles and the hexagon becomes regular. The dihedral angle between each triangle and the hexagon is approximately 70.5°, that between each square and the hexagon is 54.7°, and that between square and triangle is 125.3°. A convex polyhedron in which all of the faces are regular is a Johnson solid, and the triangular cupola is among them, enumerated as the third Johnson solid

J3

.

Given that

a

is the edge length of a triangular cupola. Its surface area

A

can be calculated by adding the area of four equilateral triangles, three squares, and one hexagon: A = \left(3+\frac \right) a^2 \approx 7.33a^2. Its height

h

and volume

V

is: \begin h &= \frac a\approx 0.82a, \\ V &= \left(\frac\right)a^3 \approx 1.18a^3.\end

C3v

of order 6.

Related polyhedra

J18

, gyroelongated triangular cupola

J22

, triangular orthobicupola

J27

, elongated triangular orthobicupola

J35

, elongated triangular gyrobicupola

J36

, gyroelongated triangular bicupola

J44

, augmented truncated tetrahedron

J65

.

The triangular cupola may also be applied in constructing truncated tetrahedron, although it leaves some hollows and a regular tetrahedron as its interior. constructed such polyhedron in a similar way as the rhombic dodecahedron constructed by attaching six square pyramids outwards, each of which apices are in the cube's center. That being said, such truncated tetrahedron is constructed by attaching four triangular cupolas rectangle-by-rectangle; those cupolas in which the alternating sides of both right isosceles triangle and rectangle have the edges in terms of ratio truncated octahedron can be constructed by attaching eight of those same triangular cupolas triangle-by-triangle.