Editing 24-cell (section)

=== Coordinates ===
The 24-cell has two natural systems of Cartesian coordinates, which reveal distinct structure.

==== Squares ====
The 24-cell is the [[convex hull]] of its vertices which can be described as the 24 coordinate [[permutation]]s of:

<math display="block">(\pm1, \pm 1, 0, 0) \in \mathbb{R}^4 .</math>

Those coordinates{{Sfn|Coxeter|1973|p=156|loc=§8.7. Cartesian Coordinates}} can be constructed as {{CDD|node|3|node_1|3|node|4|node}}, [[Rectification (geometry)|rectifying]] the [[16-cell]] {{CDD|node_1|3|node|3|node|4|node}} with the 8 vertices that are permutations of (±2,0,0,0). The vertex figure of a 16-cell is the [[octahedron]]; thus, cutting the vertices of the 16-cell at the midpoint of its incident edges produces 8 octahedral cells. This process{{Sfn|Coxeter|1973|p=|pp=145-146|loc=§8.1 The simple truncations of the general regular polytope}} also rectifies the tetrahedral cells of the 16-cell which become 16 octahedra, giving the 24-cell 24 octahedral cells.

In this frame of reference the 24-cell has edges of length {{sqrt|2}} and is inscribed in a [[3-sphere]] of radius {{sqrt|2}}. Remarkably, the edge length equals the circumradius, as in the [[hexagon]], or the [[cuboctahedron]]. Such polytopes are ''radially equilateral''.{{Efn|The long radius (center to vertex) of the 24-cell is equal to its edge length; thus its long diameter (vertex to opposite vertex) is 2 edge lengths. Only a few uniform polytopes have this property, including the four-dimensional 24-cell and [[Tesseract#Radial equilateral symmetry|tesseract]], the three-dimensional [[Cuboctahedron#Radial equilateral symmetry|cuboctahedron]], and the two-dimensional [[Hexagon#Regular hexagon|hexagon]]. (The cuboctahedron is the equatorial cross section of the 24-cell, and the hexagon is the equatorial cross section of the cuboctahedron.) '''Radially equilateral''' polytopes are those which can be constructed, with their long radii, from equilateral triangles which meet at the center of the polytope, each contributing two radii and an edge.|name=radially equilateral|group=}}

{{Regular convex 4-polytopes|radius={{radic|2}}}}

The 24 vertices form 18 great squares{{Efn|The edges of six of the squares are aligned with the grid lines of the ''{{radic|2}} radius coordinate system''. For example:
{{indent|5}}({{spaces|2}}0, −1,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}0){{spaces|3}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}0)
{{indent|5}}({{spaces|2}}0, −1, −1,{{spaces|2}}0){{spaces|3}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}1, −1,{{spaces|2}}0)<br>
is the square in the ''xy'' plane. The edges of the squares are not 24-cell edges, they are interior chords joining two vertices 90<sup>o</sup> distant from each other; so the squares are merely invisible configurations of four of the 24-cell's vertices, not visible 24-cell features.|name=|group=}} (3 sets of 6 orthogonal{{Efn|Up to 6 planes can be mutually orthogonal in 4 dimensions. 3 dimensional space accommodates only 3 perpendicular axes and 3 perpendicular planes through a single point. In 4 dimensional space we may have 4 perpendicular axes and 6 perpendicular planes through a point (for the same reason that the tetrahedron has 6 edges, not 4): there are 6 ways to take 4 dimensions 2 at a time. Three such perpendicular planes (pairs of axes) meet at each vertex of the 24-cell (for the same reason that three edges meet at each vertex of the tetrahedron). Each of the 6 planes is [[completely orthogonal]] to just one of the other planes: the only one with which it does not share a line (for the same reason that each edge of the tetrahedron is orthogonal to just one of the other edges: the only one with which it does not share a point). Two completely orthogonal planes are perpendicular and opposite each other, as two edges of the tetrahedron are perpendicular and opposite.|name=six orthogonal planes tetrahedral symmetry}} central squares), 3 of which intersect at each vertex. By viewing just one square at each vertex, the 24-cell can be seen as the vertices of 3 pairs of [[completely orthogonal]] great squares which intersect{{Efn|Two planes in 4-dimensional space can have four possible reciprocal positions: (1) they can coincide (be exactly the same plane); (2) they can be parallel (the only way they can fail to intersect at all); (3) they can intersect in a single line, as two non-parallel planes do in 3-dimensional space; or (4) '''they can intersect in a single point'''{{Efn|To visualize how two planes can intersect in a single point in a four dimensional space, consider the Euclidean space (w, x, y, z) and imagine that the w dimension represents time rather than a spatial dimension. The xy central plane (where w{{=}}0, z{{=}}0) shares no axis with the wz central plane (where x{{=}}0, y{{=}}0). The xy plane exists at only a single instant in time (w{{=}}0); the wz plane (and in particular the w axis) exists all the time. Thus their only moment and place of intersection is at the origin point (0,0,0,0).|name=how planes intersect at a single point}} if they are [[completely orthogonal]].|name=how planes intersect}} at no vertices.{{Efn|name=three square fibrations}}

==== Hexagons ====
The 24-cell is [[self-dual]], having the same number of vertices (24) as cells and the same number of edges (96) as faces.

If the dual of the above 24-cell of edge length {{sqrt|2}} is taken by reciprocating it about its ''inscribed'' sphere, another 24-cell is found which has edge length and circumradius 1, and its coordinates reveal more structure. In this frame of reference the 24-cell lies vertex-up, and its vertices can be given as follows:

8 vertices obtained by permuting the ''integer'' coordinates:

<math display="block">\left( \pm 1, 0, 0, 0 \right)</math>

and 16 vertices with ''half-integer'' coordinates of the form:

<math display="block">\left( \pm \tfrac{1}{2}, \pm \tfrac{1}{2}, \pm \tfrac{1}{2}, \pm \tfrac{1}{2} \right)</math>

all 24 of which lie at distance 1 from the origin.

[[#Quaternionic interpretation|Viewed as quaternions]],{{Efn|name=quaternions}} these are the unit [[Hurwitz quaternions]].

The 24-cell has unit radius and unit edge length{{Efn||name=radially equilateral}} in this coordinate system. We refer to the system as ''unit radius coordinates'' to distinguish it from others, such as the {{sqrt|2}} radius coordinates used [[#Squares|above]].{{Efn|The edges of the orthogonal great squares are ''not'' aligned with the grid lines of the ''unit radius coordinate system''. Six of the squares do lie in the 6 orthogonal planes of this coordinate system, but their edges are the {{sqrt|2}} ''diagonals'' of unit edge length squares of the coordinate lattice. For example:
{{indent|17}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}0)
{{indent|5}}({{spaces|2}}0, −1,{{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0){{spaces|3}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0)
{{indent|17}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0, −1,{{spaces|2}}0)<br>
is the square in the ''xy'' plane. Notice that the 8 ''integer'' coordinates comprise the vertices of the 6 orthogonal squares.|name=orthogonal squares|group=}}

{{Regular convex 4-polytopes|radius=1}}

The 24 vertices and 96 edges form 16 non-orthogonal great hexagons,{{Efn|The hexagons are inclined (tilted) at 60 degrees with respect to the unit radius coordinate system's orthogonal planes. Each hexagonal plane contains only ''one'' of the 4 coordinate system axes.{{Efn|Each great hexagon of the 24-cell contains one axis (one pair of antipodal vertices) belonging to each of the three inscribed 16-cells. The 24-cell contains three disjoint inscribed 16-cells, rotated 60° isoclinically{{Efn|name=isoclinic 4-dimensional diagonal}} with respect to each other (so their corresponding vertices are 120° {{=}} {{radic|3}} apart). A [[16-cell#Coordinates|16-cell is an orthonormal ''basis'']] for a 4-dimensional coordinate system, because its 8 vertices define the four orthogonal axes. In any choice of a vertex-up coordinate system (such as the unit radius coordinates used in this article), one of the three inscribed 16-cells is the basis for the coordinate system, and each hexagon has only ''one'' axis which is a coordinate system axis.|name=three basis 16-cells}} The hexagon consists of 3 pairs of opposite vertices (three 24-cell diameters): one opposite pair of ''integer'' coordinate vertices (one of the four coordinate axes), and two opposite pairs of ''half-integer'' coordinate vertices (not coordinate axes). For example:
{{indent|17}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}0)
{{indent|5}}({{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>){{spaces|3}}({{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>)
{{indent|5}}(−<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>){{spaces|3}}(−<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>)
{{indent|17}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0, −1,{{spaces|2}}0)<br>
is a hexagon on the ''y'' axis. Unlike the {{sqrt|2}} squares, the hexagons are actually made of 24-cell edges, so they are visible features of the 24-cell.|name=non-orthogonal hexagons|group=}} four of which intersect{{Efn||name=how planes intersect}} at each vertex.{{Efn|It is not difficult to visualize four hexagonal planes intersecting at 60 degrees to each other, even in three dimensions. Four hexagonal central planes intersect at 60 degrees in the [[cuboctahedron]]. Four of the 24-cell's 16 hexagonal central planes (lying in the same 3-dimensional hyperplane) intersect at each of the 24-cell's vertices exactly the way they do at the center of a cuboctahedron. But the ''edges'' around the vertex do not meet as the radii do at the center of a cuboctahedron; the 24-cell has 8 edges around each vertex, not 12, so its vertex figure is the cube, not the cuboctahedron. The 8 edges meet exactly the way 8 edges do at the apex of a canonical [[cubic pyramid]].{{Efn|name=24-cell vertex figure}}|name=cuboctahedral hexagons}} By viewing just one hexagon at each vertex, the 24-cell can be seen as the 24 vertices of 4 non-intersecting hexagonal great circles which are [[Clifford parallel]] to each other.{{Efn|name=four hexagonal fibrations}}

The 12 axes and 16 hexagons of the 24-cell constitute a [[Reye configuration]], which in the language of [[Configuration (geometry)|configurations]] is written as 12<sub>4</sub>16<sub>3</sub> to indicate that each axis belongs to 4 hexagons, and each hexagon contains 3 axes.{{Sfn|Waegell|Aravind|2009|loc=§3.4 The 24-cell: points, lines and Reye's configuration|pp=4-5|ps=; In the 24-cell Reye's "points" and "lines" are axes and hexagons, respectively.}}

==== Triangles ====
The 24 vertices form 32 equilateral great triangles, of edge length {{radic|3}} in the unit-radius 24-cell,{{Efn|These triangles' edges of length {{sqrt|3}} are the diagonals{{Efn|name=missing the nearest vertices}} of cubical cells of unit edge length found within the 24-cell, but those cubical (tesseract){{Efn|name=three 8-cells}} cells are not cells of the unit radius coordinate lattice.|name=cube diagonals}} inscribed in the 16 great hexagons.{{Efn|These triangles lie in the same planes containing the hexagons;{{Efn|name=non-orthogonal hexagons}} two triangles of edge length {{sqrt|3}} are inscribed in each hexagon.  For example, in unit radius coordinates:
{{indent|17}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}1,{{spaces|2}}0)
{{indent|5}}({{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>){{spaces|3}}({{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>)
{{indent|5}}(−<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>){{spaces|3}}(−<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>, −<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>,{{spaces|2}}<small>{{sfrac|1|2}}</small>)
{{indent|17}}({{spaces|2}}0,{{spaces|2}}0, −1,{{spaces|2}}0)<br>
are two opposing central triangles on the ''y'' axis, with each triangle formed by the vertices in alternating rows. Unlike the hexagons, the {{sqrt|3}} triangles are not made of actual 24-cell edges, so they are invisible features of the 24-cell, like the {{sqrt|2}} squares.|name=central triangles|group=}} Each great triangle is a ring linking three completely disjoint{{Efn|name=completely disjoint}} great squares.{{Efn|The 18 great squares of the 24-cell occur as three sets of 6 orthogonal great squares,{{Efn|name=six orthogonal planes of the Cartesian basis}} each forming a [[16-cell]]. The three 16-cells are completely disjoint (and [[#Clifford parallel polytopes|Clifford parallel]]): each has its own 8 vertices (on 4 orthogonal axes) and its own 24 edges (of length {{radic|2}}). The 18 square great circles are crossed by 16 hexagonal great circles; each hexagon has one axis (2 vertices) in each 16-cell.{{Efn|name=non-orthogonal hexagons}} The two great triangles inscribed in each great hexagon (occupying its alternate vertices, and with edges that are its {{radic|3}} chords) have one vertex in each 16-cell. Thus ''each great triangle is a ring linking the three completely disjoint 16-cells''. There are four different ways (four different ''fibrations'' of the 24-cell) in which the 8 vertices of the 16-cells correspond by being triangles of vertices {{radic|3}} apart: there are 32 distinct linking triangles. Each ''pair'' of 16-cells forms a tesseract (8-cell). Each great triangle has one {{radic|3}} edge in each tesseract, so it is also a ring linking the three tesseracts.|name=great linking triangles}}

==== Hypercubic chords ====
[[File:24-cell vertex geometry.png|thumb|Vertex geometry of the radially equilateral{{Efn||name=radially equilateral|group=}} 24-cell, showing the 3 great circle polygons and the 4 vertex-to-vertex chord lengths.|alt=]]
The 24 vertices of the 24-cell are distributed{{Sfn|Coxeter|1973|p=298|loc=Table V: The Distribution of Vertices of Four-Dimensional Polytopes in Parallel Solid Sections (§13.1); (i) Sections of {3,4,3} (edge 2) beginning with a vertex; see column ''a''|5=}} at four different [[Chord (geometry)|chord]] lengths from each other: {{sqrt|1}}, {{sqrt|2}},  {{sqrt|3}} and {{sqrt|4}}. The {{sqrt|1}} chords (the 24-cell edges) are the edges of central hexagons, and the {{sqrt|3}} chords are the diagonals of central hexagons. The {{sqrt|2}} chords are the edges of central squares, and the {{sqrt|4}} chords are the diagonals of central squares.

Each vertex is joined to 8 others{{Efn|The 8 nearest neighbor vertices surround the vertex (in the curved 3-dimensional space of the 24-cell's boundary surface) the way a cube's 8 corners surround its center. (The [[vertex figure]] of the 24-cell is a cube.)|name=8 nearest vertices}} by an edge of length 1, spanning 60° = <small>{{sfrac|{{pi}}|3}}</small> of arc. Next nearest are 6 vertices{{Efn|The 6 second-nearest neighbor vertices surround the vertex in curved 3-dimensional space the way an octahedron's 6 corners surround its center.|name=6 second-nearest vertices}} located 90° = <small>{{sfrac|{{pi}}|2}}</small> away, along an interior chord of length {{sqrt|2}}. Another 8 vertices lie 120° = <small>{{sfrac|2{{pi}}|3}}</small> away, along an interior chord of length {{sqrt|3}}.{{Efn|name=nearest isoclinic vertices are {{radic|3}} away in third surrounding shell}} The opposite vertex is 180° = <small>{{pi}}</small> away along a diameter of length 2. Finally, as the 24-cell is radially equilateral, its center is 1 edge length away from all vertices.

To visualize how the interior polytopes of the 24-cell fit together (as described [[#Constructions|below]]), keep in mind that the four chord lengths ({{sqrt|1}}, {{sqrt|2}}, {{sqrt|3}}, {{sqrt|4}}) are the long diameters of the [[hypercube]]s of dimensions 1 through 4: the long diameter of the square is {{sqrt|2}}; the long diameter of the cube is {{sqrt|3}}; and the long diameter of the tesseract is {{sqrt|4}}.{{Efn|Thus ({{sqrt|1}}, {{sqrt|2}}, {{sqrt|3}}, {{sqrt|4}}) are the vertex chord lengths of the tesseract as well as of the 24-cell. They are also the diameters of the tesseract (from short to long), though not of the 24-cell.}} Moreover, the long diameter of the octahedron is {{sqrt|2}} like the square; and the long diameter of the 24-cell itself is {{sqrt|4}} like the tesseract.

==== Geodesics ====
[[Image:stereographic polytope 24cell faces.png|thumb|[[Stereographic projection]] of the 24-cell's 16 central hexagons onto their great circles. Each great circle is divided into 6 arc-edges at the intersections where 4 great circles cross.]]
The vertex chords of the 24-cell are arranged in [[geodesic]] [[great circle]] polygons.{{Efn|A geodesic great circle lies in a 2-dimensional plane which passes through the center of the polytope. Notice that in 4 dimensions this central plane does ''not'' bisect the polytope into two equal-sized parts, as it would in 3 dimensions, just as a diameter (a central line) bisects a circle but does not bisect a sphere. Another difference is that in 4 dimensions not all pairs of great circles intersect at two points, as they do in 3 dimensions; some pairs do, but some pairs of great circles are non-intersecting Clifford parallels.{{Efn|name=Clifford parallels}}}} The [[geodesic distance]] between two 24-cell vertices along a path of {{sqrt|1}} edges is always 1, 2, or 3, and it is 3 only for opposite vertices.{{Efn|If the [[Euclidean distance|Pythagorean distance]] between any two vertices is {{sqrt|1}}, their geodesic distance is 1; they may be two adjacent vertices (in the curved 3-space of the surface), or a vertex and the center (in 4-space). If their Pythagorean distance is {{sqrt|2}}, their geodesic distance is 2 (whether via 3-space or 4-space, because the path along the edges is the same straight line with one 90<sup>o</sup> bend in it as the path through the center). If their Pythagorean distance is {{sqrt|3}}, their geodesic distance is still 2 (whether on a hexagonal great circle past one 60<sup>o</sup> bend, or as a straight line with one 60<sup>o</sup> bend in it through the center). Finally, if their Pythagorean distance is {{sqrt|4}}, their geodesic distance is still 2 in 4-space (straight through the center), but it reaches 3 in 3-space (by going halfway around a hexagonal great circle).|name=Geodesic distance}}

The {{sqrt|1}} edges occur in 16 [[#Hexagons|hexagonal great circles]] (in planes inclined at 60 degrees to each other), 4 of which cross{{Efn|name=cuboctahedral hexagons}} at each vertex.{{Efn|Eight {{sqrt|1}} edges converge in curved 3-dimensional space from the corners of the 24-cell's cubical vertex figure{{Efn|The [[vertex figure]] is the facet which is made by truncating a vertex; canonically, at the mid-edges incident to the vertex. But one can make similar vertex figures of different radii by truncating at any point along those edges, up to and including truncating at the adjacent vertices to make a ''full size'' vertex figure. Stillwell defines the vertex figure as "the convex hull of the neighbouring vertices of a given vertex".{{Sfn|Stillwell|2001|p=17}} That is what serves the illustrative purpose here.|name=full size vertex figure}} and meet at its center (the vertex), where they form 4 straight lines which cross there. The 8 vertices of the cube are the eight nearest other vertices of the 24-cell. The straight lines are geodesics: two {{sqrt|1}}-length segments of an apparently straight line (in the 3-space of the 24-cell's curved surface) that is bent in the 4th dimension into a great circle hexagon (in 4-space). Imagined from inside this curved 3-space, the bends in the hexagons are invisible. From outside (if we could view the 24-cell in 4-space), the straight lines would be seen to bend in the 4th dimension at the cube centers, because the center is displaced outward in the 4th dimension, out of the hyperplane defined by the cube's vertices. Thus the vertex cube is actually a [[cubic pyramid]]. Unlike a cube, it seems to be radially equilateral (like the tesseract and the 24-cell itself): its "radius" equals its edge length.{{Efn|The cube is not radially equilateral in Euclidean 3-space <math>\mathbb{R}^3</math>, but a cubic pyramid is radially equilateral in the curved 3-space of the 24-cell's surface, the [[3-sphere]] <math>\mathbb{S}^3</math>. In 4-space the 8 edges radiating from its apex are not actually its radii: the apex of the [[cubic pyramid]] is not actually its center, just one of its vertices. But in curved 3-space the edges radiating symmetrically from the apex ''are'' radii, so the cube is radially equilateral ''in that curved 3-space'' <math>\mathbb{S}^3</math>. In Euclidean 4-space <math>\mathbb{R}^4</math> 24 edges radiating symmetrically from a central point make the radially equilateral 24-cell,{{Efn|name=radially equilateral}} and a symmetrical subset of 16 of those edges make the [[tesseract#Radial equilateral symmetry|radially equilateral tesseract]].}}|name=24-cell vertex figure}} The 96 distinct {{sqrt|1}} edges divide the surface into 96 triangular faces and 24 octahedral cells: a 24-cell. The 16 hexagonal great circles can be divided into 4 sets of 4 non-intersecting [[Clifford parallel]] geodesics, such that only one hexagonal great circle in each set passes through each vertex, and the 4 hexagons in each set reach all 24 vertices.{{Efn|name=hexagonal fibrations}}

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ [[Orthographic projection|Orthogonal projection]]s of the 24-cell
|- style="text-align:center;"
![[Coxeter plane]]
!colspan=2|F<sub>4</sub>
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Graph
|colspan=2|[[File:24-cell t0_F4.svg|100px]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
![[Dihedral symmetry]]
|colspan=2|[12]
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Coxeter plane
!B<sub>3</sub> / A<sub>2</sub> (a)
!B<sub>3</sub> / A<sub>2</sub> (b)
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Graph
|[[File:24-cell t0_B3.svg|100px]]
|[[File:24-cell t3_B3.svg|100px]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Dihedral symmetry
|[6]
|[6]
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Coxeter plane
!B<sub>4</sub>
!B<sub>2</sub> / A<sub>3</sub>
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Graph
|[[File:24-cell t0_B4.svg|100px]]
|[[File:24-cell t0_B2.svg|100px]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Dihedral symmetry
|[8]
|[4]
|}
The {{sqrt|2}} chords occur in 18 [[#Squares|square great circles]] (3 sets of 6 orthogonal planes{{Efn|In 4 dimensional space we can construct 4 perpendicular axes and 6 perpendicular planes through a point. Without loss of generality, we may take these to be the axes and orthogonal central planes of a (w, x, y, z) Cartesian coordinate system. In 4 dimensions we have the same 3 orthogonal planes (xy, xz, yz) that we have in 3 dimensions, and also 3 others (wx, wy, wz). Each of the 6 orthogonal planes shares an axis with 4 of the others, and is ''completely orthogonal'' to just one of the others: the only one with which it does not share an axis. Thus there are 3 pairs of completely orthogonal planes: xy and wz intersect only at the origin; xz and wy intersect only at the origin; yz and wx intersect only at the origin.|name=six orthogonal planes of the Cartesian basis}}), 3 of which cross at each vertex.{{Efn|Six {{sqrt|2}} chords converge in 3-space from the face centers of the 24-cell's cubical vertex figure{{Efn|name=full size vertex figure}} and meet at its center (the vertex), where they form 3 straight lines which cross there perpendicularly. The 8 vertices of the cube are the eight nearest other vertices of the 24-cell, and eight {{sqrt|1}} edges converge from there, but let us ignore them now, since 7 straight lines crossing at the center is confusing to visualize all at once. Each of the six {{sqrt|2}} chords runs from this cube's center (the vertex) through a face center to the center of an adjacent (face-bonded) cube, which is another vertex of the 24-cell: not a nearest vertex (at the cube corners), but one located 90° away in a second concentric shell of six {{sqrt|2}}-distant vertices that surrounds the first shell of eight {{sqrt|1}}-distant vertices. The face-center through which the {{sqrt|2}} chord passes is the mid-point of the {{sqrt|2}} chord, so it lies inside the 24-cell.|name=|group=}} The 72 distinct {{sqrt|2}} chords do not run in the same planes as the hexagonal great circles; they do not follow the 24-cell's edges, they pass through its octagonal cell centers.{{Efn|One can cut the 24-cell through 6 vertices (in any hexagonal great circle plane), or through 4 vertices (in any square great circle plane). One can see this in the [[cuboctahedron]] (the central [[hyperplane]] of the 24-cell), where there are four hexagonal great circles (along the edges) and six square great circles (across the square faces diagonally).}} The 72 {{sqrt|2}} chords are the 3 orthogonal axes of the 24 octahedral cells, joining vertices which are 2 {{radic|1}} edges apart. The 18 square great circles can be divided into 3 sets of 6 non-intersecting Clifford parallel geodesics,{{Efn|[[File:Hopf band wikipedia.png|thumb|Two [[Clifford parallel]] [[great circle]]s on the [[3-sphere]] spanned by a twisted [[Annulus (mathematics)|annulus]]. They have a common center point in [[Rotations in 4-dimensional Euclidean space|4-dimensional Euclidean space]], and could lie in [[completely orthogonal]] rotation planes.]][[Clifford parallel]]s are non-intersecting curved lines that are parallel in the sense that the perpendicular (shortest) distance between them is the same at each point.{{Sfn|Tyrrell|Semple|1971|loc=§3. Clifford's original definition of parallelism|pp=5-6}} A double helix is an example of Clifford parallelism in ordinary 3-dimensional Euclidean space. In 4-space Clifford parallels occur as geodesic great circles on the [[3-sphere]].{{Sfn|Kim|Rote|2016|pp=8-10|loc=Relations to Clifford Parallelism}} Whereas in 3-dimensional space, any two geodesic great circles on the 2-sphere will always intersect at two antipodal points, in 4-dimensional space not all great circles intersect; various sets of Clifford parallel non-intersecting geodesic great circles can be found on the 3-sphere. Perhaps the simplest example is that six mutually orthogonal great circles can be drawn on the 3-sphere, as three pairs of completely orthogonal great circles.{{Efn|name=six orthogonal planes of the Cartesian basis}} Each completely orthogonal pair is Clifford parallel. The two circles cannot intersect at all, because they lie in planes which intersect at only one point: the center of the 3-sphere.{{Efn|Each square plane is isoclinic (Clifford parallel) to five other square planes but [[completely orthogonal]] to only one of them.{{Efn|name=Clifford parallel squares in the 16-cell and 24-cell}} Every pair of completely orthogonal planes has Clifford parallel great circles, but not all Clifford parallel great circles are orthogonal (e.g., none of the hexagonal geodesics in the 24-cell are mutually orthogonal).|name=only some Clifford parallels are orthogonal}} Because they are perpendicular and share a common center,{{Efn|In 4-space, two great circles can be perpendicular and share a common center ''which is their only point of intersection'', because there is more than one great [[2-sphere]] on the [[3-sphere]]. The dimensionally analogous structure to a [[great circle]] (a great 1-sphere) is a great 2-sphere,{{Sfn|Stillwell|2001|p=24}} which is an ordinary sphere that constitutes an ''equator'' boundary dividing the 3-sphere into two equal halves, just as a great circle divides the 2-sphere. Although two Clifford parallel great circles{{Efn|name=Clifford parallels}} occupy the same 3-sphere, they lie on different great 2-spheres. The great 2-spheres are [[#Clifford parallel polytopes|Clifford parallel 3-dimensional objects]], displaced relative to each other by a fixed distance ''d'' in the fourth dimension. Their corresponding points (on their two surfaces) are ''d'' apart. The 2-spheres (by which we mean their surfaces) do not intersect at all, although they have a common center point in 4-space. The displacement ''d'' between a pair of their corresponding points is the [[#Geodesics|chord of a great circle]] which intersects both 2-spheres, so ''d'' can be represented equivalently as a linear chordal distance, or as an angular distance.|name=great 2-spheres}} the two circles are obviously not parallel and separate in the usual way of parallel circles in 3 dimensions; rather they are connected like adjacent links in a chain, each passing through the other without intersecting at any points, forming a [[Hopf link]].|name=Clifford parallels}} such that only one square great circle in each set passes through each vertex, and the 6 squares in each set reach all 24 vertices.{{Efn|name=square fibrations}}

The {{sqrt|3}} chords occur in 32 [[#Triangles|triangular great circles]] in 16 planes, 4 of which cross at each vertex.{{Efn|Eight {{sqrt|3}} chords converge from the corners of the 24-cell's cubical vertex figure{{Efn|name=full size vertex figure}} and meet at its center (the vertex), where they form 4 straight lines which cross there. Each of the eight {{sqrt|3}} chords runs from this cube's center to the center of a diagonally adjacent (vertex-bonded) cube,{{Efn|name=missing the nearest vertices}} which is another vertex of the 24-cell: one located 120° away in a third concentric shell of eight {{sqrt|3}}-distant vertices surrounding the second shell of six {{sqrt|2}}-distant vertices that surrounds the first shell of eight {{sqrt|1}}-distant vertices.|name=nearest isoclinic vertices are {{radic|3}} away in third surrounding shell}} The 96 distinct {{sqrt|3}} chords{{Efn|name=cube diagonals}} run vertex-to-every-other-vertex in the same planes as the hexagonal great circles.{{Efn|name=central triangles}} They are the 3 edges of the 32 great triangles inscribed in the 16 great hexagons, joining vertices which are 2 {{sqrt|1}} edges apart on a great circle.{{Efn|name=three 8-cells}}

The {{sqrt|4}} chords occur as 12 vertex-to-vertex diameters (3 sets of 4 orthogonal axes), the 24 radii around the 25th central vertex.

The sum of the squared lengths{{Efn|The sum of 1・96 + 2・72 + 3・96 + 4・12 is 576.}} of all these distinct chords of the 24-cell is 576 = 24<sup>2</sup>.{{Efn|The sum of the squared lengths of all the distinct chords of any regular convex n-polytope of unit radius is the square of the number of vertices.{{Sfn|Copher|2019|loc=§3.2 Theorem 3.4|p=6}}}} These are all the central polygons through vertices, but in 4-space there are geodesics on the 3-sphere which do not lie in central planes at all. There are geodesic shortest paths between two 24-cell vertices that are helical rather than simply circular; they correspond to diagonal [[#Isoclinic rotations|isoclinic rotations]] rather than [[#Simple rotations|simple rotations]].{{Efn|name=isoclinic geodesic}}

The {{sqrt|1}} edges occur in 48 parallel pairs, {{sqrt|3}} apart. The {{sqrt|2}} chords occur in 36 parallel pairs, {{sqrt|2}} apart. The {{sqrt|3}} chords occur in 48 parallel pairs, {{sqrt|1}} apart.{{Efn|Each pair of parallel {{sqrt|1}} edges joins a pair of parallel {{sqrt|3}} chords to form one of 48 rectangles (inscribed in the 16 central hexagons), and each pair of parallel {{sqrt|2}} chords joins another pair of parallel {{sqrt|2}} chords to form one of the 18 central squares.|name=|group=}}

The central planes of the 24-cell can be divided into 4 orthogonal central hyperplanes (3-spaces) each forming a [[cuboctahedron]]. The great hexagons are 60 degrees apart; the great squares are 90 degrees or 60 degrees apart; a great square and a great hexagon are 90 degrees ''and'' 60 degrees apart.{{Efn|Two angles are required to fix the relative positions of two planes in 4-space.{{Sfn|Kim|Rote|2016|p=7|loc=§6 Angles between two Planes in 4-Space|ps=; "In four (and higher) dimensions, we need two angles to fix the relative position between two planes. (More generally, ''k'' angles are defined between ''k''-dimensional subspaces.)".}} Since all planes in the same hyperplane{{Efn|name=hyperplanes}} are 0 degrees apart in one of the two angles, only one angle is required in 3-space. Great hexagons in different hyperplanes are 60 degrees apart in ''both'' angles. Great squares in different hyperplanes are 90 degrees apart in ''both'' angles ([[completely orthogonal]]) or 60 degrees apart in ''both'' angles.{{Efn||name=Clifford parallel squares in the 16-cell and 24-cell}} Planes which are separated by two equal angles are called ''isoclinic''. Planes which are isoclinic have [[Clifford parallel]] great circles.{{Efn|name=Clifford parallels}} A great square and a great hexagon in different hyperplanes ''may'' be isoclinic, but often they are separated by a 90 degree angle ''and'' a 60 degree angle.|name=two angles between central planes}} Each set of similar central polygons (squares or hexagons) can be divided into 4 sets of non-intersecting Clifford parallel polygons (of 6 squares or 4 hexagons).{{Efn|Each pair of Clifford parallel polygons lies in two different hyperplanes (cuboctahedrons). The 4 Clifford parallel hexagons lie in 4 different cuboctahedrons.}} Each set of Clifford parallel great circles is a parallel [[Hopf fibration|fiber bundle]] which visits all 24 vertices just once.

Each great circle intersects{{Efn|name=how planes intersect}} with the other great circles to which it is not Clifford parallel at one {{sqrt|4}} diameter of the 24-cell.{{Efn|Two intersecting great squares or great hexagons share two opposing vertices, but squares or hexagons on Clifford parallel great circles share no vertices. Two intersecting great triangles share only one vertex, since they lack opposing vertices.|name=how great circle planes intersect|group=}} Great circles which are [[completely orthogonal]] or otherwise Clifford parallel{{Efn|name=Clifford parallels}} do not intersect at all: they pass through disjoint sets of vertices.{{Efn|name=pairs of completely orthogonal planes}}