Regular polytope impossible ("not constructible"). The simplest few regular polygons that are impossible to construct are the "n"-sided polygons with "n" equal to 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21... Constructibility in this sense refers only to ideal constructions with ideal tools. Of course reasonably accurate approximations can be constructed by a range of methods; while theoretically possible constructions may be impractical. Euclid's "Elements" gave what amount to ruler-and-compass constructions for the five Platonic solids. (See, for example, Euclid's Elements.) However, the merely practical question of how one might draw a straight line in space, even with a ruler, might lead
Snub (geometry) Snub (geometry) In geometry, a snub is an operation applied to a polyhedron. The term originates from Kepler's names of two Archimedean solids, for the snub cube (cubus simus) and snub dodecahedron (dodecaedron simum). In general, snubs have chiral symmetry with two forms, with clockwise or counterclockwise orientations. By Kepler's names, a snub can be seen as an expansion of a regular polyhedron, with the faces moved apart, and twists on their centers, adding new polygons centered on the original vertices, and pairs of triangles fitting between the original edges. The terminology was generalized by Coxeter, with a slightly different