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
Euclidean tilings by convex regular polygons figures, which are also called "m"-Archimedean tilings. For edge-to-edge Euclidean tilings, the internal angles of the polygons meeting at a vertex must add to 360 degrees. A regular -gon has internal angle formula_1 degrees. There are seventeen combinations of regular polygons whose internal angles add up to 360 degrees, each being referred to as a "species" of vertex; in four cases there are two distinct cyclic orders of the polygons, yielding twenty-one "types" of vertex. Only eleven of these can occur in a uniform tiling of regular polygons, given in previous sections. In particular, if three polygons meet at a