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Schlfli SymbolIn mathematics, the Schlfli symbol is a simple notation that gives a summary of some important properties of a particular regular polytope. It is defined as follows. The Schlfli symbol of a polygon with n edges is {n}. The Schlfli symbol of a polyhedron is {p,q} if its faces are p-gons, and each vertex is surrounded by q faces. Note that the Schlfli symbol is not well defined for polyhedra which are not (sufficiently) regular (such as the prism). The Schlfli symbols of the Platonic solids. are: Schlfli symbols may also be defined for regular tessellations of euclidean or hyperbolic space in a similar way. For higher dimensional polytopes, the Schlfli symbol is defined recursively as {p1,p2,...,pn-1} if the facets have Schlfli symbol {p1,p2,...,pn-2} and the vertex figures have Schlfli symbol {p2,p3,...,pn-1}. The Schlfli symbol of a line segment is {}. If a polytope has Schlfli symbol {p1,p2,...,pn-1} then its dual polytope has Schlfli symbol {pn-1,...,p2,p1}. Occasionally, you will see fractions in a Schlfli symbol. For example, there are several instances of 5/2 in the list of regular polytopes. The symbol {p/q} means a planar figure with p vertexes where every q-th vertex is connected. Thus, 5/2 is a five-pointed star shape. The Schlfli symbol is named after the 19th century mathematician Ludwig Schlfli who made important contributions in geometry and other areas.
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