Harmonic Ratio of the Octahedron, ~1.7321From Euclid XIII.14 (Heath, 1960; v.3, p. 474) we have,(2*R)2 = 2*S2, or [1] S = sqrt(2)*RAgain, to relate S and r (and thus R and r) we will resort to the central triangle. The central triangle argument for the octahedronAgain, this triangle connects the center of the octahedron to a vertex, the side R, to the center of a equilateral triangular face, the side r, and across the triangular face, side c. Applying the Pythagorean theorem to this triangle, we have as in each case,[2] R2 = r2 + c2,In this case, again, c is the distance from the center of a equilateral triangle to one of its vertices. This distance is related to S, the edge of the triangle, by [3] S = sqrt(3)*cas we have seen several times before. So now, substituting [3] in [1] and squaring, we find, [4] c2 = S2/3 = (2/3)*R2Finally, putting this expression in place of c2 in equation [2] and collecting terms in R2 on the left, we have, [5] (1/3)*R2 = r2so the harmonic ratio we seek is, [6] R/r = sqrt(3)which evaluates to 1.732051, rounded to the sixth decimal place as usual. |