|
Parallelepipedon.png
A parallelepiped (alternately, parallelopiped, parallelepipedon or parallelopipedon) is a 3-dimensional polyhedron with six parallelograms for faces.
The word is also sometimes used for the higher-dimensional analogues.
Properties
All opposite faces are parallel and since each face has point symmetry, it is a zonohedron.
The volume of a parallelepiped can be calculated most easily using the determinants, or equivalently via the scalar triple product or cross products.
Pronunciation
The Oxford English Dictionary states that the emphasis is on the fourth syllable, parallelEpiped.
The OED also lists "parallelopipedon" (although in this case the emphasis is on the fifth syllable, paralelopIpedon); "parallelipiped" and "parallelopiped" are explicitly listed as incorrect forms.
Related articles
|
