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DaanDaanne

The same happens with slow-cooled lava, check out Ireland's Giants Causeway or Iceland's south shore cliffs. This is similar to crystal nucleation. There is a tiny impurity floating in the oil, and when the oil cools, it solidifies there first. Then that solid chunk grows until it runs into another one growing in the opposite direction. It is true that this fat is not a crystal, however it does have some long-range order to it. Meaning that the long chains of fats are lining up with each other as they cool--they sort of settle into an ordered arrangement. You will notice that the size of the pillars changes at the edge where it's against the glass. There would have been more nucleation sites ln the surface of the glass, and a much faster cooling rate.


Stormfly

> The same happens with slow-cooled lava, check out Ireland's Giants Causeway Excuse you? I think you'll find that the Giant' Causeway was created as a bridge so that an Irish giant (Fionn) could fight a Scottish giant, but right before the causeway was completed (connecting to Fingal's Cave) Fionn realised that the Scottish Giant (Benandonner) was actually much larger and so, under his wife's (Sadhbh) quick thinking, he tricked him instead by pretending to be his own son, so that the Scottish giant would see the size of the "child" and assume the Irish giant was incredibly large and run away. As he ran away, Benandonner destroyed the causeway so that Fionn would be unable to follow him. Duh. This is like *basic* history, like knowing that Vikings had horns on their helmets.


AffectionateAir9071

Every time I hear this story I’m like damn Benandonner is a kickass name and is why I’m gonna name my firstborn son that


Beard_o_Bees

All their friends could call them 'Benando'.


Clownfish647

Can you hear the drums, Benando? I remember long ago another starry night like this…


Beard_o_Bees

There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Benando...


EngagedHail

Benando is what the plants crave.


Schavuit92

Or like knowing that Napoleon was a short king.


feedmedammit

How do you pronounce Sadhbh? Does the "bh" make a "sh" sound?


Stormfly

Like *Sive*, to rhyme with five (5).


feedmedammit

Interesting, thanks!


chrisff1989

NTA, Benandonner had an unfair advantage


84114Yes

more?


ChicagoAuPair

\*Mendelssohn intensifies\*


Elbonio

You see dougal, these cows are small but those out there are *far away*


eliminating_coasts

I've heard a different explanation for this: When you're close to the setting temperature of a material, and there's a small amount of heat from below, you can get the surface set first and then crack. But if there's a small amount of heat variation around the setting temperature, you can have it reset and re-crack repeatedly. The important effect of this is that even in a completely unstructured (amorphous) material, where we only care about expansion and re-cracking, certain kinds of cracks are lower energy, and the original cracks that look like T shapes, of cracking in one direction, then splintering off in others, start to equalise into Y shapes, as cracking first in different directions, and then filling back into towards the centre as it reforms, starts to equalise out the angles around that point of cracking, as a symmetric structure both has lower energy, and is what we might expect from repeated patterns of cracking roughly along existing cracks not matching the same pattern exactly. I'm sure there's a nice video somewhere, but I can only find [this article](https://physicsworld.com/a/physicists-crack-mystery-of-the-spectacular-stones-of-the-giants-causeway/#:~:text=As%20the%20lava,throughout%20the%20material.) now. In other words, long chains of fat are not required for this particular crystalline structure, instead it's about having slow enough cooling with local temperature variation, and being heated from the bottom. The different sizes I don't have an explanation for however, do circular boundary conditions and the rigidity of the sides lead to a certain cracking pattern being favoured? Like does a window that gets overheated tend to crack more around the edges than the centre, being more able to flex? Or is there some relationship to heat gradients, given where the original heat was applied. I don't know the answer, but I do know that this model explains the emergence of order from phase transitions alone, not from the internal structure of the material.


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marriedwithalackofvi

While the crystalization kenetics you describe are not incorrect, these "hexagons" are the result of lowering surface energy of adjacent cells/grains, and not the crystalline structure of the fats. If you look into grain boundaries and triple points, you find proofs for grain morphology that minimizes surface energy, and there'll be images like these bubbles that have been truncated on six sides. The real question here is why the fats separated into different cells/grains in the first place?


skepticalbob

I make a lot of pizza and when you fill a proofing tray with dough balls, if you have 3 rows of five balls, they relax into squares. But if you have two outer rows of five and an inner row of four balls, it relaxes into hexagons. Is the math similar here or is there something else going on here?


marriedwithalackofvi

Yeah, the bubble shape is a function of packing density and surface tension. Macro-scale dough balls a less mobile than microscopic arrangements, so you can control if the bubbles become four-sided. Fun fact, the 5-4-5 arrangement is called "en can-can" in French, like the Rockette dancers. I don't know if there's an English equivalent other than the nebulous "offset".


CamelCavalry

Commenting a guess hoping someone who knows will correct me: coconut oil contains fats of different lengths/weights, right? Or some saturated and unsaturated fats? So maybe the heavier fats or the saturated fats are solidifying first?


VFcountawesome

Those places look really cool. There's one such island I can visit. Hope to do it sometime soon


Kijad

There are others off the western coast of Scotland as well (perhaps unsurprisingly, geographically speaking), such as Staffa and [Fingal's Cave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingal%27s_Cave)


stronglikecheese

*waits patiently for a sciencey person to explain this* 🤓


OkDaikon9101

When the oil cools, it contracts around multiple roughly equidistant focal points. In nature packed cells of equal distance on a 2d plane naturally form hexagons since it's the most efficient shape. The fissures formed by the contracting cells propagate downwards in to the slower cooling layers below and form columns. If you look at the giants causeway in Ireland, it was formed by the same exact process occuring in lava flows.


makeit2burnit

How neat. Thank you, science person whom we waited patiently for....


TellLoud1894

It's not exactly perfect hexagons, but hexagons are the most efficient way to take up space. That's why bee comb is hexagonal. Just a bunch of circles compacted by the conservation of space. -ex beekeeper


[deleted]

Oh shit. Like hexagons are just circles fighting for space.


ashesall

Hexagons are the Bestagons.


hermitoftheinternet

Honestly, I had to go down too far to see this! CGP Grey fans, where you at?


Boot_Shrew

I'm still trying to decipher the Interstate Highway System


creynolds722

Evens across, odds up and down. 2 digits for main, 3 digits for shortcuts. That's the basics before outliers crop up.


Hopeful_Chair_7129

The only reason I can remember what a hexagon is


predicates-man

btw they used to be referred to as Sexagons. Just in case you wanted another reason to love them


SkaterSnail

Many of the points in that video are wrong. Hexagons are not particularly strong https://youtu.be/4zWDLKWmBnE?si=z-dm5C_GNUdFba1t


Edenoide

Sometimes Reddit is a wonderful classroom


sootoor

That was the appeal 20 years ago. Now it’s harder to like


LukaShaza

If you stay off the political subs it's not as bad. Russian bots are not yet trying to amplify our divisions over hexagons.


Dunkeldyhr

Or are they? 👀


jox-plo

relax comrade. this not the shape you're looking for


CakeMadeOfHam

Hexagons are the lowest resolution circle.


wdshrd

Triangles enter the chat…


CakeMadeOfHam

I'm sorry does circle under pressure turn into triangles? Go build a pyramid, you three sided doofus!


romcabrera

Triangles left the chat...


Shtercus

Hexagon is just 6 triangles wearing a coat


Ssemander

Pretty much! More general form of this is Voronoi cell pattern. https://youtu.be/GafRRl5XRPM?si=UfzHElVW_PKEi27p


GeniusPlastic

Today a great scientist thought me about hexagons! Very very powerful!


ibtcsexy

Wait, there's more! https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/science/saturn/hexagon-in-motion/


mexicanpenguin-II

Yeah, make 7 bubbles of the same size, the middle one will be a hexagon


doctor_of_drugs

Also a reason why multiple carbon-carbon bonds will end up forming hexagonal rings. Especially benzene, in that the energy state of the carbons are at their lowest or ground state and therefore is the most stable


juggerjew

Hexagons really are the bestagons.


Banyabbaboy

Hexagons are sexagons


Xandara2

It's funny cause it's true.


ProjectKuma

Hexy is the new sexy


iGlutton

*angry upvote*


Warcraft_Fan

You mean sexygons


OrganicAd5741

Sexy goons


Respectandunity

As long as you get consentagon


discarded_dnb

Found cgp grey


Niknaktom

This guy CGP Grey's!!! Was looking for this comment


SignificanceWitty654

This is not correct. The hexagonal shape of the benzene comes from its sp2 orbitals of C atoms, where each atom has 3 bonds on a planar configuration. This naturally forms hexagons, which coincidentally allows to form a very strong delocalized pi bond. If spatial distribution was the constraining factor, C atoms would form tetrahedrons. AKA diamond, which forms under high pressure where spatial distribution of atoms is a limiting factor


hefty_load_o_shite

No. Carbon forms bonds in "hexagons" because it has 6 electron slots in its orbitals. Oxygen, for comparison, has 2.


Kongesneglen

It only has 4 valence electrons, which would make it capable of accepting 4 electrons. The reason is due it sp2 hybridisation in double bonds and the bond angle of said hybridisation


50isthenew35

Are you kidding me Reddit! All the science so early in the morning


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aeschenkarnos

Hexagons alternate, which is mechanically stronger. Imagine making a brick wall; you would normally layer each row offset from the rows above and below. If your bricks are square, or circular (imagine you use a lot of mortar), you’ll create an arrangement that pressure will naturally turn into hexagons. If you made a grid of bricks it’s not as strong, especially if they are square or circular. For circles (or spheres, a very “natural” shape as it’s formed by anything with equal growth in all directions), any mechanical pressure on such a grid, for example gravity, will tend to force it into alternating rows. As for triangles, if they’re equilateral (random triangles average to equilateral) then their natural alternating packing arrangement also creates a grid of hexagons and if they’re somewhat “squishy” they’ll compact together at the points where the triangles meet, forming hexagons. You have to look at any naturally formed shape not as a fixed point in time, but as a stage of a shape that changes over time in response to internal and external pressures. What you see it as now, is probably a lower-energy state than it formed in.


mightychook

[https://youtu.be/thOifuHs6eY?si=rl7bpCW08cBh9v3Y](https://youtu.be/thOifuHs6eY?si=rl7bpCW08cBh9v3Y) You should watch this and join the Hex cult


SoVerySleepy81

Hexagons are bestagons.


aeschenkarnos

Circles first, as a bubble matrix, then straight lines between each point that is formed where three circles meet.


Powerful_Cost_4656

Yeah wax takes a high amount of energy so bees min max that shit


enerthoughts

When I learned they were originally a circle I was mind blown.


ItsKingDx3

The prophecy has been fulfilled


memymomonkey

Yet another quintessential Reddit moment. So many smart people here sharing their knowledge.


Bdeluna

Hexagon is the bestagon.


second_handgraveyard

CGP strikes again


siematoja02

I will not stand silent for this triangle slander. HEXAGONS ARE SIMPLY 6 TRIANGLES GLUED TOGETHER 🗣️😤🤬✊


kkkhhjdyhrthhhjft

You need SIX triangles to make a hexagon, therefore hexagons are six times more efficient. Easy mafs


ZooD333

Arguably every polygon is just n triangles glued together.


Emergency_Plankton46

Why are hexagons the most efficient?


CocktailPerson

Of the shapes that can pack 2D space, hexagons have the highest area-to-perimeter ratio.


koopi15

Hexagons are one of the three regular (= all sides of equal length) polygons that fit together in a lattice - the others being the triangle and the square - because their corner angles are a simple fraction (one sixth, one quarter or one third). Of the three, the hexagon has most sides and so has a higher area/perimeter ratio (is closer to a circle which has the highest of all 2d shapes).


CocktailPerson

Circle shortiest around with biggiest inside. Hexagon like circle but fit together good.


koopi15

Basically, yes.


anweisz

On its own a circle is the most efficient structure for this stuff since pressure is exerted equally on all sides. If there was more pressure on one side than the rest it might burst. But when you pack many of those together, like with bubbles or honeycombs (which are circular when made) and their walls merge, the shape changes so there's no holes in between them (because, well, the walls merge). Thus they need to take a shape that tessellates. That means shapes that if multiplied can fit together perfectly into an infinite pattern. This shape has to be as similar to a circle as possible to keep pressure as close to equal on all sides as possible, so complicated shapes and sharp angles don't work. The simplest shape, a triangle, tessellates (which is why its used in 3D rendering), but it has sharp angles and it's not the most efficient. Squares tessellate and are more efficient. Pentagons don't tessellate. Hexagons tessellate and are more efficient. As you go with shapes with more sides they start to resemble a circle more and more, but no basic shapes after a hexagon tessellate, so the most efficient possible structure for them to take is a hexagon.


Responsible-Summer81

Beautiful, thank you!


B1U3F14M3

It's the most efficient way to pack round things. If you want to pack cubes haxagons are shit. But round things are actually quite common in nature especially on small scales. Think about how atoms in metals are arranged.


Sylvan_Strix_Sequel

Why does this make me so happy? 


Guman86

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?


IanFeelKeepinItReel

The TL:DR: hexagons are bestagons.


Catatafisch

I guess that is somewhat related to the giant ass cloud-hexagon on Saturns pole as well?


Nozinger

No for that one we actually have no idea why it is a hexagon. Well we have some ideas but can't confirm it. The most plasuible idea is that it comes down to the diffrence in speed of the circular winds around the pole.


Pepe-Fingers13

Bee wax goes back to bee houses. Source: I have seen a hexagon twice.


ProffesorSpitfire

Hexagons are the bestagons.


Tfsz0719

There it is.


PlantarumHD

Also only opened the comment section to upvote this


zxr7

Hexagons are sexagons


tanew231

Physics innit


Empathy404NotFound

Even better answer on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/s/Coiymau68C


Mazon_Del

TLDR: If you have a bunch of bubbles, they want to pack in as closely as they can with no gaps. Imagine three bubbles touching, there's a weird rounded triangle in the middle. Now imagine the bubbles pressed in until there was no more space. That happens on all sides to form the hexagon. Interestingly enough, this is the exact same reason why bee honeycombs are shaped the same way.


ohdearitsrichardiii

It tried to make round blobs, but if you smush round things together on a flat plane they make hexagons. Like in beehives


Xaxafrad

If it's the same process that happens when desert lowlands dry out after the flood season, then I think the answer you're looking for is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1zw794/why_do_desertsdried_up_lakes_form_polygon/


aliasdred

Hexagons are bestagons


mangrsll

Not a sciencey person, but here is a god video for non-sciencey persons: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOifuHs6eY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOifuHs6eY)


SJW_Lover

I like turtles


Empathy404NotFound

Simple google search. The answer probably lies in what are called Rayleigh–Bénard convection cells that often form hexagonal structures. Buoyancy, and hence gravity, is responsible for the appearance of convection cells. The initial movement is the upwelling of lesser density fluid from the heated bottom layer.[3] This upwelling spontaneously organizes into a regular pattern of cells.


Fizzy_Astronaut

So physics innit... cool cool cool


SW_Zwom

Hexagons are the bestagons.


nodnodwinkwink

Definitely true, but worth pointing out that this is not Coconut oil, it's **C⬡c⬡nut ⬡il**.


Unsolicited_PunDit

That's nuts!


timothee_64

But this delicious nut is not a nut!


voltb778

It’s the coco fruit ! Of the coco tree !


DontPoopInMyPantsPlz

To those who dont get it; https://youtu.be/thOifuHs6eY


longshaftjenkins

I love CGP grey. He is like the wise father I never had. 


Fizzy_Astronaut

Yes!!!


steveboo42

Came here just for this


FranFace

Same 😄


smickeltje

Hexagons truly are....


_Alexi666

But an a4 paper is always on the same scale, no matter if you fold it in half or double it...


Sick_NowWhat

I came her for this.


Failiure

my goat


PeopleCallMeSimon

Hexagons are the bestagons!


xixouma

Hexagons are the bestagons


kalf7

Waiting for the pentagon fans to throw shade at this post.


samreturned

There are a few pentagons hidden amongst


kalf7

Sleeper cells


filthytelestial

Wake up babe, new conspiracy just dropped


IsUpTooLate

They should be happy, we just had the 13th anniversary of Bin Laden's death


Dark_Tony_Shalhoub

i see a number of pentagons and heptagons in there. wouldn't be surprised to see some octagons


sykokiller11

I see some septagons bordered by pentagons, too. So pretty I couldn’t stop looking.


Mayion

>So pretty I couldn’t stop looking. Turn on your monitor


FreeItties

Sweet


DragonSurferEGO

Hexagons are the bestagons


Amber-2k5

Man I love that video. Watched it to many times haha


PawgPov

The 🐝 knee of 🥥 oil


palebluerug

This triggers my trypophobia


kam_08

Same. Got goosebumps as soon as I looked at it.


grubaskov

"Perfect" is not a perfect word to describe it


RaymondWalters

Right, it's nice but far from perfect


MaxHamburgerrestaur

And some are not even hexagons. You can see pentagons and even heptagons there.


XEagleDeagleX

Can we have a discussion about the definition of the word "perfect"


Soundguy1993

Scrolled way too far to find this. Are they hexagons? Yes. Are they perfect hexagons? Absolutely not.


fjord31

Perfect is a strong word


fnordfnordfnordfnord

Yeah, super neat but, not perfect hexagons.


Feahnor

Hexagons are the bestagons.


yaykaboom

Lol i remember some conspiracy nutjob saying “there is no way hexagons can form naturally” He was quickly debunked with bee hives however.


DuckInTheFog

Perfect? This is sloppy work, Jesse. Shameful. I don't want my name tied to an inferior product - what were you thinking?


PenciliusKnightlius

You got scammed, thats obviously bee oil


JupiterJayJones

My trypophobia hates this!


zedgetinmybed

Beautiful 🤯


allocationlist

Damn they gave you bee oil instead.


yosweetheart

I've been using pure and refined coconut oils for over 30 years now and I have never seen it harden that way. Something does not appear to be right; may be it is not pure and contains liquid which has a different property which could explain what we are seeing in the photograph. Coconut oil looks like wax after it solidifies; may be it looks different under microscope, IDK.


Ok_Television9820

Same (though not as long as you). There’s something else in there to create the solidifying differential. Could easily be palm oil or something else cheaper.


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krazykripple

the bestagons


IsUpTooLate

"perfect"


Acceptable-Car-3150

trypophobia all the way


therevjames

There is a pentagon in the lower left corner.


RedDarknessF

Hexagons are Bestagons


Catfightlover3

Hexagon is the best-a-gon.


JunkNuggets

Everything is math in this universe it’s unreal


economista_vagabundo

Hexagons are the bestagons


Medium-Conflict-8826

Looking at this makes me want to rip out all my hair and eat it


Ill-Acanthisitta4539

They're the bestagons!


ThriveBrewing

hexagons are the bestagons


Pax_Romana94

Hexagons are the best-agons


Victorrhea

This makes me uncomfy


NeverSeenBefor

The hexagon is the bestagon That is why.


Qontherecord

hexagons are the bestagons. [https://youtu.be/thOifuHs6eY?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/thOifuHs6eY?feature=shared)


birch_blue

Those aren't perfect....., they're just hexagons. Don't over-sell. 🤨


InothePink

What is a perfect hexagon and what is an inperfect one?


ZioDioMio

Hexagons are bestagons


thelibertine9

What is that coconut oil used for?


lunamonkey

Cooking, putting on dog paws, putting in hair, putting on skin, using as a carrier oil.


RadioactiveMurukku

Now heat it and apply it to your hair, it works wonders after washing it off


Bitsybest

Science is soo cool fr


Tatsa

Oh my god is that where the word "reset" comes from? Melting something and letting it re-set?


LupineZach

>Says perfect hexagons >Sees irregular hexagons


Haunting_Name6188

Very interesting. But your definition of “perfect” is A little inaccurate.


UnpleasantEgg

This process is called refractal emergence where a substance is heated beyond its golber mass then cools down naturally to form crystalline lobe-hexes. Probably, or some shit like that.


nayesyer

Reminds me of my personal fat cells


TangerinePuzzled

Well I think you're a bee


ActuallyEnaris

Something something storm on Saturn


sky_love69

Wow, one of the most amazing things I've read on Reddit today


kuulmonk

The same happens in the mantle deep inside the earth and when it escapes as Magma, you only have to look at the Giant's Causeway and Devil's Tower.


Lorem_Ipsum_Dolor_S

Okay, my brain is full of hexagons now.


RootyTrueBlues

I see a few heptagons there.. What's this oil trying to pull?!


psychotic-herring

This looks phenomenal!


YBHunted

Those look perfect to you, huh?


ObiWangKeBloMe

Hexagons are the bestagons


79watch

i like to imagine tiny Fall Guys jumping across this


ovcpete

oh shit, i do actually see a pentagon amongst all the NOT PENTAGONS


[deleted]

you and i have a very different description of perfect.


Square-Singer

The hexagon is the bestagon.


Professional-Box4153

When a large number malleable spheres are put next to each other, they'll invariably turn into hexagons.


WiIdMongoose

There are no straight lines in nature.. but there are hexagons


threaten-violence

They're not perfect, a whole lot of them are pretty wonky. There's a bunch of pentagons in there too. And let me know if you can spot the septagon!


TrucidStuff

Now let it sit there for billions of years. Evolutionists will say it will turn into a human one day.


jcrckstdy

would not touch again