soft cell

{{Short description|Type of geometric shape}}

{{use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{for|the band|Soft Cell}}

In mathematics, a soft cell is a shape with curved edges that can tile the 2D plane or 3D space.{{cite journal |last1=Ball |first1=Philip |title=Mathematicians discover new class of shape seen throughout nature |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03099-6 |journal=Nature |access-date=27 October 2024 |pages=13–14 |language=en |doi=10.1038/d41586-024-03099-6 |date=20 September 2024|volume=634 |issue=8032 |pmid=39304756 |bibcode=2024Natur.634...13B |url-access=subscription }} The class of shapes was discovered in 2024 by Gábor Domokos, Alain Goriely, Ákos G. Horváth and Krisztina Regős.{{cite web |title=Mathematicians discover new universal class of shapes to explain complex biological forms {{!}} University of Oxford |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-09-12-mathematicians-discover-new-universal-class-shapes-explain-complex-biological-forms |website=www.ox.ac.uk |access-date=27 October 2024 |language=en |date=12 September 2024}} {{cite journal |last1=Cutts |first1=Elise |title=Newly Discovered Shape Is a Tessellation Revelation |journal=Scientific American |date=19 November 2024 |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mathematicians-discover-a-new-kind-of-shape-thats-all-over-nature/ |language=en}}

The shapes are found in a wide variety of phenomena in nature, such as river estuaries, muscle fibres, and the seashell chambers of the nautilus.{{cite web |title=Soft cells: Rounded tile shapes echo those found in nature |url=https://phys.org/news/2024-09-soft-cells-rounded-tile-echo.html |website=Phys.org |access-date=27 October 2024}}{{cite journal | url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03099-6 | doi=10.1038/d41586-024-03099-6 | title=Mathematicians discover new class of shape seen throughout nature | date=2024 | last1=Ball | first1=Philip | journal=Nature | volume=634 | issue=8032 | pages=13–14 | pmid=39304756 | bibcode=2024Natur.634...13B | url-access=subscription }}