Circles Waste Space. Hexagons Don't.

Summary by Krater

An explainer examining why hexagons appear frequently in nature, science, and engineering, concluding that hexagonal tiling optimizes the ratio of area to perimeter and mechanical stability.

From the video

Answers: Why are hexagons so common in nature and science?

• Hexagonal tiling
• Honeycomb geometry
• Graphene structure
• Bee eyes
• Chessboard geometry

What it concludes

• Hexagons provide the maximum honey area while using the minimum amount of wax.
• Hexagons are the only regular polygons that tile a plane without requiring demeaning self-division.
• Graphene is composed of hexagonal carbon atoms and is the strongest atomic material in the universe.
• Hexagonal patterning provides superior tear resistance, lightness, and flexibility in aviation materials.
• Hexagonal chessboards are superior to square chessboards because they provide six true neighbors at equal distances.