The Snub Truncated Icosahedron

George W. Hart


As far as I know, this is the only "snub truncated icosahedron" in the universe.  Of course, there is no strong reason why anyone other than me would want to make one.  But since I think it is quite beautiful, I thought you might like to see it also.  It is hollow plaster --- 10 cm in diameter --- and as fragile as an eggshell.  To really appreciate it, check out the high-resolution image available here.

The above computer-generated image shows its structure.  It has 272 faces (20 hexagons, 12 pentagons, and 240 triangles).  The pentagons and hexagons are regular, but the triangles are not quite equilateral.  The word snub indicates the pattern with which triangles separate the faces of the truncated icosahedron (pentagons and hexagons arranged as a soccer ball).