TESSELLATIONS History :

"Tessellation" comes from the Latin tessella, which means a small or a tile. Tessellations have been around for centuries and are still quite prevalent today. However the study of tessellations in mathematics has a relatively short history. In 1619, Johannes Kepler did one of the first documented studies of tessellations when he wrote about the regular and semiregular tessellation, which are coverings of a plane with regular polygons. Some two hundred years later in 1891, the Russian crystallographer E. S. Fedorov proved that every tiling of the plane is constructed in accord ance to one of seventeen different groups of isometries. Fedorov's work marked the unofficial beginning of the mathematical study of tessellations. Other prominent contributors include Shubnikov and Belov (1951) and Heinrich Heesch and Otto Kienzle (1963 ). However, the most famous contributor was the Dutch artist, M. C. Escher (1898-1972). M.C. Escher was a man studied and greatly appreciated by respected mathematicians, scientists and crystallographers yet he had no formal training in science or mathematics. He was a humble man who considered himself neither an artist nor a mathematician. He is most famous for his so-called impossible structures, such as Ascending and Descending, Relativity, his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II and Metamorphosis III, Sky & Water I or Reptiles. During his lifetime, M.C. Escher made 448 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings and over 2000 drawings and sketches. M. C. Escher, the one who was inspired by studying the Moorish use of symmetry in the Alhambra tiles during a visit in 1922. Tessellations are seen throughout art history, from ancient architecture to modern art.

What is tessellations? :

Tessellation is repeated a shape in a plane without any gaps or overlaps. The study of tessellations is concerned with the use of multiple identical, non gaps and overlapping copies of a certain figure or figures to cover the Euclidean plane . One such figure is the square, since the checkerboard pattern can be extended in all directions. Other examples are the equilateral triangle and the regular . Since some of these early figures were made as tiles to cover floors, walls, and such, a tessellation of the plane is also called a tiling. Although the square, equilateral triangle, and regular hexagon are the only regular polygons that, individually, can tile the Euclidean plane, one can use these tilings to construct new ones. Examples are those po lygons constructed by modifying tilings based on squares and triangles. Also, collections of different, even irregular polygons can tile the plane. Many tilings are highly symmetrical, and mathematicians have classified tilings in terms of their symmetries. For example, wallpaper tilings are plane tilings which repeat at regular intervals in two independent directions. By a close study of the possible symmetries in the plane, mathematicians have shown that there are, in all, only 17 essentially different wa llpaper tilings. Surprisingly, all 17 are found in the Moorish castle known as the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Used of tessellation s in everyday life :

Suppose you were to cover a large surface such as a floor with little pieces of material. You would probably choose to design a repeating pattern since repeating patterns are usually more beautiful than a haphazard non -repeating one. When you finished, you would have designed a tessellation! Any repeating patter n of shapes that cover a plane without overlap is considered a tessellation. Thus, it is not surprising that tessellations and tilings can be found in many cultu res, both ancient and modern. Tessellations are thousands of years old and can be found all ove r the world in a variety of cultures and in a variety of forms. They can be traced all the way back to the Sumerian civilization (about 4000 B.C.) in which the walls of homes and temples were decorated by designs of tessellations constructed from slabs of hardened clay. Not only did these tessellations provide decoration but they also became part of the structure of the buildings. Since then, tessellations have been found in many of the artistic elements of wide -ranging cultures including the Egyptians, Moors, Romans, Persians, Greek, Byzatine, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. The kinds of shapes used in the tilings vary between culture to culture. Coloring techniques, which can make tremendous differences in the overall visual effect of a tessellation, also vary from culture to culture. Finally, the amount of embellishment added to the tilings varies among the artwork in each culture. For example, the Islamic religion forbids the representation of living objects in works of art. The Moors have consequently cre ated only abstract geometrical works composed of simple shapes. Nevertheless, their works of intricate design are nothing short of breathtaking. On the other hand, Romans and other Mediterranean peoples have incorporated detailed illustrations of humans an d natural scenes into their designs. Probably the best known example of tessellated patterns has been the Alhambra palace, an Islamic architectural marvel located in Granada, Spain. Its floors, walls, and ceilings are literally covered with tessellations a nd other repeating patterns. In recent times tessellations can be found in many areas of life. Art, architecture, hobbies, and many other areas hold examples of tessellations found in

our everyday surroundings. Specific examples include oriental carpets, q uilts, origami, , on floors, walls, ceilings, buildings, ceramics, clothing designs, rugs, wallpaper, stained-glass windows and also in Islamic architecture. They have continued to be an art form with artists such as Maurits Escher, Victor Vasarely , and Bridget Riley, who have explored variations and extensions of tilings on the plane.

REFERENCES :

Ball, W. W. R. and Coxeter, H. S. M. Mathematical Recreations and Essays, 13th ed. New York: Dover, pp. 105-107, 1987. Bhushan, A.; Kay, K.; and Williams, E. "Totally Tessellated." http://library.thinkquest.org/16661/ . Britton, J. Symmetry and Tessellations: Investigating Patterns. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. Cundy, H. and Rollett, A. Mathematical Models, 3rd ed. Stradbroke, England: Tarquin Pub., pp. 60-63, 1989. Gardner, M. "Tilings with Convex Polygons." Ch. 13 in Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments. New York: W. H. Freeman, pp. 162-176, 1988.