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
Octagon a sequence of expanded hypercubes: Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον "oktágōnon", "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A "regular octagon" has Schläfli symbol {8} and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t{4}, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t{8} is a hexadecagon, t{16}. The sum of all the internal angles of any octagon is 1080°. As with all polygons, the external angles total 360°. If squares are constructed all internally or all externally on the sides of an octagon, then the midpoints of the segments connecting the centers