Hyperbolic geometry or hypercycle, then the triangle has no circumscribed circle. As in spherical and elliptical geometry, in hyperbolic geometry if two triangles are similar, they must be congruent. A special polygon in hyperbolic geometry is the regular apeirogon, a uniform polygon with an infinite number of sides. In Euclidean geometry, the only way to construct such a polygon is to make the side lengths tend to zero and the apeirogon is indistinguishable from a circle, or make the interior angles tend to 180 degrees and the apeirogon approaches a straight line. However, in hyperbolic geometry, a regular apeirogon has sides of
Birkhoff's axioms Birkhoff's axioms In 1932, G. D. Birkhoff created a set of four postulates of Euclidean geometry in the plane, sometimes referred to as Birkhoff's axioms. These postulates are all based on basic geometry that can be confirmed experimentally with a scale and protractor. Since the postulates build upon the real numbers, the approach is similar to a model-based introduction to Euclidean geometry. Birkhoff's axiom system was utilized in the secondary-school textbook by Birkhoff and Beatley. These axioms were also modified by the School Mathematics Study Group to provide a new standard for teaching high school geometry, known as SMSG axioms.