GENERAL ç ARTICLE

Symmetry in the World of Man and Nature

1. Classification of Isometries

Shailesh A Shirali
1 . In tr o d u c tio n
S y m m etry a s a n id ea h a s a n a sp ect o f u n iv ersa lity to
it. In v irtu a lly ev ery fa cet o f h u m a n en d eav o u r a n d n a t-
u ra l p h en o m en a , cu ttin g a cro ss th e b o u n d a ries o f tim e
a n d sp a ce, w e ¯ n d m a n ifesta tio n s o f sy m m etry. A s H er-
m a n n W ey l w rites in h is w o n d erfu l b o o k [1 ], a b o o k th a t
Shailesh Shirali has
been at the Rishi Valley
is certa in ly essen tia l rea d in g fo r a n y o n e w ith a n in ter-
School (Krishnamurti est in th e su b ject, \ S y m m etry, a s w id e o r a s n a rrow a s
Foundation of India), y o u m ay d e¯ n e its m ea n in g , is o n e id ea b y w h ich m a n
Rishi Valley, Andhra th ro u g h th e a g es h a s tried to co m p reh en d a n d crea te o r-
Pradesh, for more than
d er, b ea u ty a n d p erfectio n " . T h e a ll-em b ra cin g n a tu re
ten years and is cur-
rently the Principal. He o f th e co n cep t o f sy m m etry is sta g g erin g : w ith in its fo ld
has been involved in the lie su b jects a s fa r rem ov ed fro m o n e a n o th er a s p a rti-
Mathematical Olympiad cle p h y sics, rela tiv ity, cry sta llo g ra p h y, ra n g o li p a ttern s
Programme since 1988. a n d Isla m ic a rt. S cien tists a re fa r fro m b ein g th e o n ly
He has a deep interest
o n es to p o n d er a b o u t th e co n cep t, a n d W illia m B la k e's
in talking and writing
about mathematics, im m o rta l p eo m s re° ect m a n 's a g e-o ld fa scin a tio n w ith
particularly about its sy m m etry :
historical aspects. He is
also interested in T yger! T yger! bu rn in g bright
problem solving In the forests of the n ight,
(particularly in the fields W hat im m ortal han d or eye
of elementary number
D are fram e thy fearfu l sym m etry?
theory, geometry and
combinatorics). T h o se k een o n th e a n a ly sis o f p o etry w ill n o te th a t B la k e
h im self ch o o ses to b rea k th e sy m m etry in th e en d , w ith
h is u se o f th e w o rd `sy m m etry '. H ere is W o rd sw o rth :
T o see a W orld in a G rain of S an d
A n d a H eaven in a W ild F low er
H old In ¯ n ity in the palm of you r han d
A n d E tern ity in an hou r.
(W h a t sy m m etry is b ein g re° ected in th ese lin es?)

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 GENERAL ç ARTICLE

Some of the finest It h a s b een sa id th a t 'sy m m etry is d ea th '. T h e p u n is

examples of su g g estiv e { `sy m m etry ' a n d `cem etery '(!); th e p u rp o rt
symmetry come p resu m a b ly is th a t sy m m etry ca rries a n a sso cia tio n o f
from nature itself: sta sis a n d la ck o f ch a n g e, w h erea s life is ev er ch a n g in g ,
the striking axial ev er m ov in g . B u t in fa ct so m e o f th e ¯ n est ex a m p les
symmetry of a o f sy m m etry co m e fro m n a tu re itself: th e strik in g a x ia l
butterfly’s wings, sy m m etry o f a b u tter° y 's w in g s, th e ro ta tio n a l sy m m e-
the rotational try o f a ° ow er (\ N a tu re's g en tlest ch ild ren " , in W ey l's
symmetry of a w o rd s), th e a sto n ish in g 3 -d im en sio n a l sy m m etry o f cer-
flower (“Nature’s
ta in ra d io la ria a n d p o llen g ra in s, th e sp ira l a rra n g em en t
o f seed s in a su n ° ow er, th e lo g a rith m ic sp ira l o n a sn a il
gentlest children”,
sh ell, th e sp ira llin g d o u b le h elix o f th e D N A m o lecu le,
in Weyl’s words),
etc. It is o n e o f th e stra n g e fa cts a b o u t th e w o rld th a t
the astonishing 3-
life h a s th e u rg e a s w ell a s th e ca p a city to crea te sy m -
dimensional
m etric fo rm s. A n o th er cu rio u s th in g is th e p h en o m en o n
symmetry of
o f left-rig h t a sy m m etry in so m e o rg a n ic m o lecu les (fo r
certain radiolaria
ex a m p le, su g a rs) a n d th e p referen ce o f liv in g fo rm s fo r
and pollen grains,
o n e ty p e o f o rien ta tio n . W h y th is sh o u ld b e so , a n d
the spiral w h eth er sy m m etry is in ev ita b le in a n y fo rm o f life, is
arrangement of so m eth in g th e rea d er co u ld re° ect u p o n .
seeds in a
sunflower, the In m a th em a tics to o , th e co n cep t o f sy m m etry h a s p lay ed
logarithmic spiral a stro n g ly u n ify in g ro le. \ T h e in v estig a tio n o f th e sy m -
on a snail shell, the m etries o f a g iv en m a th em a tica l stru ctu re h a s a lw ay s
spiralling double
y ield ed th e m o st p ow erfu l resu lts..." w ro te E m il A rtin .
helix of the DNA
T h e ex a m p le th a t co m es m o st im m ed ia tely to m in d is
F elix K lein 's w o rk o n th e u n i¯ ca tio n o f g eo m etry (th e
molecule, etc.
so -ca lled E rlan gen program m e { see P a rt 2 in th e fo rth -
co m in g issu e).
In th is tw o -p a rt ex p o sito ry a rticle, w e m a k e a b rief su r-
v ey o f th e b a sic p rin cip les o f sy m m etry. W e d iscu ss th e
d i® eren t k in d s o f sy m m etry th a t a n o b ject ca n h av e, a n d
n o te h ow th e sy m m etries o f a n o b ject fo rm a g ro u p in
a v ery n a tu ra l m a n n er. F o llo w in g th is, w e cla ssify th e
¯ n ite 2 -d im en sio n a l sy m m etry g ro u p s. T h is is fo llow ed
b y a n ex cu rsio n in to th e stu d y o f rep ea tin g p a ttern s:
strip p a ttern s (a lso k n ow n a s frieze p a ttern s o r b o rd er
p a ttern s), w a ll-p a p er p a ttern s a n d cry sta ls. T h e ex p o -

30 RESONANCE ç May 2001

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sitio n is la rg ely self-co n ta in ed , th o u g h w e p resu p p o se

so m e k n ow led g e o f elem en tary g ro u p th eo ry a n d lin ea r
a lg eb ra . T h e su b ject is a rich a n d fa scin a tin g o n e a n d
o n ly \ ex trava g a n t in co m p eten ce o n th e a u th o r's p a rt"
(a s H a rd y m ig h t h av e p u t it, in h is in im ita b le la n g u a g e)
w ill fa il to b rin g o u t its b ea u ty.
2 . T h e C o n c e p t o f S y m m e tr y
W h a t ex a ctly is sy m m etry ? E v ery o n e w o u ld a g ree th a t
a sq u a re is sy m m etric in th e lin e jo in in g th e m id p o in ts
o f a p a ir o f o p p o site sid es an d in ea ch o f its d ia g o n a ls;
lik ew ise, th a t a circle is sy m m etric in a n y o f its d ia m eters
(see F igu re 1 ). A circle w h en re° ected in a n y o f its lin es The square has essentially
o f sy m m etry fa lls b a ck u p on itself, a s d o es a sq u a re. eight symmetries: reflec-
T h ese co n sid era tio n s m o tiva te th e m o d ern a p p ro a ch to tions in the dotted lines
sy m m etry. (M u ch o f w h a t is sta ted b elow h a s b een d o n e shown, plus four rotations
k eep in g in m in d 2 -d im en sion a l sp a ce. T h is is o n ly fo r about its centre; these in-
th e sa k e o f sim p licity ; th e sa m e trea tm en t w o rk s fo r 3 - clude the identity opera-
d im en sio n a l sp a ce.) tion which corresponds to
rotation by 0o. The circle
L et th e u n d erly in g 2 -d im en sio n a l sp a ce in w h ich th e o b - has infinitely many sym-
jects u n d er co n sid era tio n a re em b ed d ed b e d en o ted b y metries: reflections in all
R 2 , a n d let th e d ista n ce b etw een p o in ts x a n d y in R 2 its diagonals, and rota-
b e d en o ted b y d (x ;y ). C o n sid er a m a p p in g f o f R 2 in to tions about its centre by
itself; d e¯ n e f to b e a n isom etry if it leav es a ll d ista n ces any angle whatever.
u n a ltered , th a t is, if d (f (x );f (y )) = d (x ;y ) fo r a ll x a n d
y (`iso ' m ea n s `th e sa m e', an d `m etric' h a s th e co n n o - Figure 1. Symmetries of a
ta tio n o f d ista n ce). F u rth er, d e¯ n e th e iso m etry to b e square and a circle.
direct if it p reserv es o rien ta tio n , a n d in direct if it ca u ses
a rev ersa l o f o rien ta tio n . B y th is w e m ea n th e fo llow in g :
let a n iso m etry f a ct o n ¢ A B C ; a n d let it ta k e A to
A 0;B to B 0 a n d C to C 0. T h en f is direct if th e d irec-
tio n o f th e cy cle A 0 ! B 0 ! C 0 ! A 0 is th e sa m e a s
th a t o f th e cy cle A ! B ! C ! A ; if n o t, it is in direct.
(A ltern a tiv es to `d irect' a n d `in d irect' a re even a n d odd.)
Iso m etries a re fa m ilia r o b jects; ex a m p les a re re° ectio n
in a lin e a n d ro ta tio n a b o u t a p o in t, a s a lso th e tra n sla -
tio n T a g iv en b y T a (x ) = x + a , w h ere a is a n y ¯ x ed ele-

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Groups were first m en t o f R 2 . N o te th a t re° ectio n is a n in d irect iso m etry,

invented to w h erea s ro ta tio n s a n d tra n sla tio n s a re d irect iso m etries.
analyze
symmetries of S y m m e try G ro u p o f a n O b je c t
certain algebraic
structures called N o ta tio n s: W e sh a ll d en o te p o in ts b y u p p erca se letters
field extensions, a n d lin es b y low erca se letters. R o ta tio n s w ill b e d en o ted
and as symmetry b y `½ ' (w ith a su b scrip t to sh ow th e cen tre o f ro ta tio n )
is a common a n d so m etim es b y `R o t'; re° ectio n s w ill b e d en o ted b y
phenomenon in all `¾ ' (w ith a su b scrip t to sh ow th e a x is o f re° ectio n ). H a lf-
sciences, it is still
tu rn s to o w ill b e d en o ted b y `¾ '. S o ¾ P d en o tes a h a lf-
tu rn a b o u t th e p o in t P (i.e., a ro ta tio n th ro u g h 1 8 0
one of the main
d eg rees), a n d ¾ l d en o tes re° ectio n in th e lin e l.
ways in which
group theory is L et I d en o te th e set o f a ll iso m etries in R 2 . It is triv ia l
applied. to v erify th e fo llow in g :
² T h e id en tity m a p p in g ¶, g iv en b y ¶(x ) = x fo r a ll x ,
b elo n g to I .
² If f ;g 2 I , th en th e co m p o sitio n f ± g 2 I .
² If f 2 I th en f p o ssesses a n in v erse f ¡ 1 2 I .
In d eed , I fo rm s a g ro u p u n d er fu n ctio n a l co m p o sitio n ,
th e grou p of rigid m otion s o f R 2 , d en o ted (b y a b u se o f
n o ta tio n ) b y th e sa m e sy m b o l I . (N o te th a t a re° ectio n
is its ow n in v erse; i.e., its o rd er is 2 .)
E x e rc ise s

2
1 . S h ow th a t th e set o f a ll p o ssib le tra n sla tio n s in R
is a su b g ro u p o f I .
2 . S h ow th a t th e set o f a ll p o ssib le ro ta tio n s (a b o u t
a ll p o ssib le p o in ts) d o es n o t fo rm a su b g ro u p o f I ,
b u t th a t th e set o f a ll p o ssib le ro ta tio n s to g eth er
w ith th e set o f a ll p o ssib le tra n sla tio n s d o es fo rm
a su b g ro u p .

L et a n o b ject X b e g iv en , a n d co n sid er th e iso m etries f

32 RESONANCE ç May 2001

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in I th a t leav e X ¯ x ed ; th a t is, f (X ) = X (th e p o in ts X |S (X)|

o f X ex ch a n g e p la ces a m o n g st th em selv es). If X w ere a
sq u a re, th en re° ectio n in eith er d ia g o n a l w o u ld q u a lify Isoceles triangle 2
fo r su ch a m a p p in g , a s w o u ld ro ta tio n a b o u t its cen ter Parallelogram 2
Rectangle 4
b y 9 0 d eg rees. T h e set o f a ll su ch iso m etries is ca lled th e
Equilaterial triangle 6
grou p of sym m etries o f X a n d is d en o ted b y th e sy m b o l Square 8
S (X ); its elem en ts a re th e sym m etries o f X . E x a m - Circle ∞
p les a re ea sy to list: a b u tter° y h a s tw o sy m m etries,
th e id en tity m a p a n d a re° ectio n ; a 3 -p eta lled ° ow er Table 1. Orders of a few
symmetry groups.
h a s th ree sy m m etries, th e id en tity m a p a n d ro ta tio n s
th ro u g h 1 2 0 d eg rees a n d 2 4 0 d eg rees a b o u t its cen ter;
a n d so o n . T able 1 d isp lay s th e n u m b er o f sy m m etries
co rresp o n d in g to a few fa m ilia r o b jects.
(N o te th a t `iso sceles' m ea n s `iso sceles n o n -eq u ila tera l',
`recta n g le' m ea n s `n o n -sq u a re recta n g le', a n d `p a ra llelo -
g ra m ' m ea n s `n o n -recta n g u la r `p a ra llelo g ra m '.)
E x e r c ise s

3 . L ist th e eig h t sy m m etries o f a sq u a re.

4 . S h ow th a t a reg u la r n sid ed p o ly g o n p o ssesses 2 n

sy m m etries. (Its g ro u p o f sy m m etries is th e dihe-
dral grou p of order 2 n , d en o ted b y th e sy m b o l D n .
It co n ta in s n ro ta tio n s a n d n re° ectio n s.)

5 . F in d a fa m ilia r m a n -m a d e o b ject in d a ily u se w h o se

sy m m etry g ro u p is iso m o rp h ic to Z 3 . (W h y is it
Z 3 a n d n o t D 3 ?)

It is in terestin g to a sk w h eth er, g iv en a n a rb itra ry g ro u p

G , w e ca n ¯ n d a n o b ject X fo r w h ich S (X ) is iso m o rp h ic
to G ; th is is eq u iva len t to a sk in g fo r a cla ssi¯ ca tio n o r
en u m era tio n o f a ll th e su b g ro u p s o f I . F o r in sta n ce,
is th ere a n o b ject X fo r w h ich S (X ) »= Z 4 (th e cy clic
g ro u p o f o rd er 4 )? Y es in d eed ! A sw a stika (eith er o n e
w ill d o , th e N a zi o r th e H in d u sw a stika ) is su ch a n o b ject
(see F igu re 2 ). T h e co rresp o n d in g 3 -a rm ed sy m b o l h a s

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a sy m m etry g ro u p iso m o rp h ic to Z 3 (th e cy clic g ro u p o f

o rd er 3 ). O b v io u sly, th e g ro u p s Z n a re a ll `rea liza b le' in
th e sen se w e h av e in m in d .
M ov in g to th ree d im en sio n s, w e ¯ n d a sm a ll co m p lica -
tio n . In tw o d im en sio n s, a ll sy m m etries a re rea liza b le
Figure 2. Nazi and Hindu
swastikas.
b y g en u in e p h y sica l m ov em en ts. F o r in sta n ce, re° ectio n
in a lin e ca n b e p h y sica lly a ch iev ed b y ro ta tio n a b o u t
th e lin e b y 1 8 0 d eg rees; th is m irro rs th e a ctu a l situ a -
tio n ex a ctly, in clu d in g th e o rien ta tio n rev ersa l ca u sed
b y re° ectio n . (In fa ct th is is th e o n ly w ay o f d o in g it.
N o a m o u n t o f slid in g a b o u t o n a p la n e w ill ev er a ch iev e
a rev ersa l o f o rien ta tio n .) H ow ev er in th ree d im en sio n s,
re° ectio n in a p la n e ca n n o t b e p h y sica lly rea lized . T h u s,
a left sh o e ca n n o t b e tra n sfo rm ed in to a rig h t sh o e,
n o m a tter h ow y o u m ov e it a b o u t { th e o n ly w ay to
d o so w o u ld b e to m a k e a q u ick d a sh to 4 -d im en sio n a l
sp a ce! (T h is b rin g s a tten tion to a n u n ex p ected h a za rd
o f jo u rn ey in g to h ig h er d im en sio n a l sp a ces: a ca relessly
d ro p p ed sh o e m ay rev erse its `p a rity ', a n d w e m ay b e
left w ith tw o left sh o es o r tw o rig h t sh o es. A stro n a u ts,
b e fo rew a rn ed !) F ro m th is p o in t o n , w h en w e refer to
In three 3 -d im en sio n a l sp a ce w e sh a ll ex clu d e fro m co n sid era tio n
dimensions, a ll o rien ta tio n -rev ersin g iso m etries.
reflection in a E x e rc ise s
plane cannot be
physically realized. 6 . H ow m a n y sy m m etries d o es a reg u la r tetra h ed ro n
Thus, a left shoe h av e? A reg u la r o cta h ed ro n ?
cannot be
transformed into a 7 . S h ow th a t a cu b e h a s 2 4 sy m m etries. H ow m a n y
right shoe, no o f th ese h av e o rd er 2? O rd er 3 ? O rd er 4 ? O r-
matter how you d er 6 ? W h a t p h y sica l m ov em en t co rresp o n d s to a
move it about —
sy m m etry o f o rd er 3 ?
the only way to do 8 . C o n sid er a 2 -co lo u red fo o tb a ll w h o se su rfa ce is a
so would be to sy m m etrica l m o sa ic o f reg u la r p en ta g o n s a n d h ex a -
make a quick dash g o n s, w ith th e p en ta g o n s o f o n e co lo u r a n d th e
to 4-dimensional h ex a g o n s o f a n o th er co lo u r. H ow m a n y sy m m e-
space! tries d o es th e fo o tb a ll h av e?

34 RESONANCE ç May 2001

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9 . W h a t sy m m etries d o es a n in ¯ n ite h elix h av e? (A

sp rin g o ® ers a co n v en ien t m o d el; see F igu re 3 .)
Figure 3. A helix.
1 0 . T h e toy, `R u b ik cu b e', m a rk eted in th e ea rly 1 9 8 0 's
b y th e H u n g a ria n a rch itect E rn o R u b ik is a 3 £ 3 £ 3
cu b e d iv id ed in to th ree lay ers p erp en d icu la r to
ea ch o f its th ree p rin cip a l a x es (see F igu re 4 ). T h e
in tern a l stru ctu re o f th e cu b e is su ch th a t ea ch
lay er ca n b e ro ta ted ab o u t its cen tre. E a ch o f th e
o u ter lay ers h a s a d i® eren t co lo u r, so a fter a few
su ch ro ta tio n s th e colo u rs g et h o p elessly scra m -
b led . T h e ch a llen g e is to resto re it to its o rig in a l
p ristin e sta te. (T h e task is d ecid ed ly n o n -triv ia l!)
T h e p ro b lem w e p o se h ere is to ¯ n d th e o rd er o f
th e g ro u p g en era ted b y th e six b a sic m ov em en ts.
Figure 4. The Rubik cube.
W arn in g: T h e n u m b er is ex trem ely la rg e, a n d th e
g ro u p h a s a v ery in trica te stru ctu re! P erh a p s th is Problem: How many con-
m ay a cco u n t fo r th e n o to rio u s d i± cu lty o f th e p u z- figurations are possible for
zle. the Rubik cube? That is,
what is the order of the
group generated by the six
3 . Iso m e trie s in T w o D im e n sio n s basic motions of the cube
(the rotations through 90o
W e n ow p ro ceed to cla ssify th e iso m etries in tw o d im en -
of each of the six faces)?
sio n s. A s m en tio n ed ea rlier, th e iso m etries in R 2 in -
clu d e th e tra n sla tio n s, ro ta tio n s a n d re° ectio n s. T h ere
is a fo u rth ty p e o f iso m etry, th e glide re° ection , w h ich
w e d e¯ n e a s fo llow s. L et ` b e a lin e in th e p la n e, let ¾ `
d en o te re° ectio n in `, let a b e a n o n -zero v ecto r p a ra l-
lel to ` a n d let T a d en o te th e tra n sla tio n m a p g iv en b y
T a (x ) = x + a . T h en th e p ro d u ct g = ¾ ` ± T a is referred
to a s a g lid e re° ectio n . N o te th a t ¾ ` ± T a = T a ± ¾ `. A
g lid e h a s in ¯ n ite o rd er, a n d it rev erses o rien ta tio n . It
is ea sy to ex h ib it a p h y sical o b ject th a t p o ssesses g lid e
sy m m etry : fo o tp rin ts o n a b ea ch ! (S ee F igu re 5 .)

Figure 5. Schematic picture

of footprints on a beach.

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T h e o r e m 1 . A n isom etry that ¯ xes tw o distin ct poin ts

¯ xes the en tire lin e passin g throu gh them . A n isom etry
that ¯ xes three n on -collin ear poin ts is the iden tity m ap.
P r o o f. L et f b e a n iso m etry th a t ¯ x es tw o p o in ts A ;B .
T h en , a n y p o in t P o n th e lin e A B is u n iq u ely sp eci-
¯ ed b y th e tw o d ista n ces A P ;B P , a n d a s d ista n ces a re
left u n ch a n g ed , P to o m u st b e ¯ x ed b y f . T h e seco n d
a ssertio n is p rov ed sim ila rly.
T h e o r e m 2 . A n isom etry that ¯ xes tw o distin ct poin ts
is either a re° ection or the iden tity m ap.
P r o o f. L et f b e a n iso m etry th a t ¯ x es tw o p o in ts A ;B ;
th en , it ¯ x es lin e A B , p o in tw ise. L et C b e a p o in t n o t
o n A B . S in ce th e d ista n ces A C ;B C a re ¯ x ed , f (C ) ca n
b e in o n e o f ju st tw o p o ssib le lo ca tio n s. If f (C ) = C
th en f is th e id en tity. If n o t, let g b e th e re° ectio n in
th e lin e A B . T h en , g ± f ¯ x es A ;B ;C a n d h en ce is th e
id en tity. T h u s, f is th e in v erse o f g a n d so , f = g .
T h e o r e m 3 . A n isom etry that ¯ xes exactly on e poin t
is a produ ct of tw o re° ection s. A n isom etry that ¯ xes a
poin t is a produ ct of at m ost tw o re° ection s.
P r o o f. L et f b e a n iso m etry th a t ¯ x es ex a ctly o n e p o in t
A . L et B b e a n o th er p o in t, a n d let B 0 = f (B ); th en
B ;B 0 a re eq u id ista n t fro m A , so A lies o n lin e m w h ich
b isects B B 0 a t rig h t a n g les. L et g d en o te re° ectio n in
m . T h en g ± f ¯ x es A ;B , so g ± f is eith er a re° ectio n
o r th e id en tity m a p . T h e la tter lea d s to f = g , w h ich
ca n n o t b e, a s f ¯ x es ex a ctly o n e p o in t. T h erefo re g ± f is
so m e re° ectio n h . T h u s, f = g ± h . T h e seco n d a ssertio n
fo llow s a s a co ro lla ry o f th e p ro o f. 2
T h e o r e m 4 . A n y isom etry in 2-dim en sion al space can
be expressed as a produ ct of n o m ore than three re° ec-
tion s.
P r o o f W e n eed o n ly co n sid er th e ca se w h en th e iso m etry
f h a s n o ¯ x ed p o in ts. L et P ;Q b e p o in ts w ith Q = f (P ).

36 RESONANCE ç May 2001

 GENERAL ç ARTICLE

L et m b e th e lin e b isectin g P Q a t rig h t a n g les, a n d let

g d en o te re° ectio n in m . T h en g ± f ¯ x es P a n d so is
a p ro d u ct o f a t m o st tw o re° ectio n s. T h erefo re f is a
p ro d u ct o f a t m o st th ree re° ectio n s. 2
T h e o r e m 5 . G iven tw o coplan ar trian gles con gru en t
to on e an other, there exists a u n iqu e isom etry m appin g
on e trian gle on to the other.
T h e p ro o f is left to th e rea d er (E x ercise 1 4 ).
T h e o re m 6 .
(a ) T he produ ct of a tran slation an d a re° ection (in ei-
ther order) is either a re° ection or a glide.
(b ) T he sam e con clu sion holds for the produ ct of a ro-
tation an d a re° ection (in either order).
P r o o f. T h e sim p lest a p p ro a ch is v ia co o rd in a tiza tio n .
L et th e a x is o f re° ectio n b e ch o sen to b e th e x -a x is.
D en o te th e re° ectio n m a p b y ¾ , a n d let th e tra n sla tio n
T b e g iv en b y T (x ;y ) = (x + a ;y + b); let f = ¾ ± T .
T h en f ta k es (x ;y ) to (x + a ;¡ y ¡ b):
T ¾
(x ;y ) ! (x + a ;y + b) ! (x + a ;¡ y ¡ b):
D e¯ n e a u x ilia ry m a p s ® a n d ¯ a s fo llow s: ® (x ;y ) = (x +
a ;y );¯ (x ;y ) = (x ;¡ b ¡ y ): T h en ® is a tra n sla tio n a lo n g
th e x -a x is, w h ile ¯ is a re° ectio n in th e lin e y = ¡ b= 2 .
B y co m p u ta tio n , w e see th a t ¾ ± T = ® ± ¯ . It fo llow s th a t
¾ ± T is a g lid e o r a re° ectio n (th e la tter ca se co rresp o n d s
to a = 0 ; w h en a 6= 0 , th e a x es o f th e m a p s T a n d ¾
a re p a ra llel, so ¾ ± T is a g lid e b y d e¯ n itio n ). T h e p ro o f
th a t T ± ¾ is a re° ectio n o r a g lid e is h a n d led sim ila rly,
a n d w e leav e th e p ro o f o f p a rt (b ) to th e rea d er. 2
T h e o r e m 7 . A n y isom etry in I is the iden tity, a tran s-
lation , a rotation , a re° ection or a glide re° ection .
P r o o f. A s ea rlier, w e n eed o n ly co n sid er th e ca se w h en
th e iso m etry f h a s n o ¯ x ed p o in ts; th en b y T h eo rem 4 , f
ca n b e ex p ressed a s a p ro d u ct o f th ree re° ectio n s. S in ce
th e p ro d u ct o f tw o re° ectio n s is eith er th e id en tity, a

RESONANCE ç May 2001 37

 GENERAL ç ARTICLE

tra n sla tio n o r a ro ta tio n (see E x ercise 1 3 ), w e ca n in v o k e

T h eo rem 6 . T h e resu lt fo llow s. 2
E x e rc ise s

1 1 . L et ¾ P ;¾ Q ;¾ R d en o te h a lf-tu rn s in th ree d istin ct

p o in ts P ;Q ;R . S h ow th a t

¾P ± ¾Q ± ¾R = ¾R ± ¾Q ± ¾P :

1 2 . L et m b e a n y lin e, let ¾ m d en o te re° ectio n in m ,

a n d let f b e a n y iso m etry. S h ow th a t th e iso m etry
f ± ¾ m ± f ¡1 is th e sa m e a s re° ectio n in th e lin e
f (m ).

1 3 . L et m ;n b e g iv en lin es. S h ow th a t th e co m p o site

m a p ¾ m ± ¾ n is eith er th e id en tity m a p (if m a n d
n a re th e sa m e), a tra n sla tio n (if m k n ), o r a
ro ta tio n (if m a n d n a re n o n -p a ra llel; in th is ca se,
th e cen tre o f ro ta tio n is th e p o in t m \ n ).

1 4 . P rov e T h eo rem 6 .

Address for Correspondence Suggested Reading

Shailesh A Shirali
Rishi Valley School [1] Hermann Weyl, Symmetry, Princeton University Press, 1952.
Chittoor District [2] George E Martin Transformation Geometry: An Introduction to Symmetry,
Rishi Valley 517 352 Springer Verlag.
Andhra Pradesh, India. [3] L Tarasov, This Amazingly Symmetrical World , Mir Publishers, 1986.
[4] D’Arcy Thomson, Growth and Form, Cambridge University Press, 1917.

Absence of evidence is
not evidence of absence.

Carl Sagan
The Dragons of Eden

38 RESONANCE ç May 2001