splitcircle

A splitcircle is a type of geometric shape formed by dividing a circle into two distinct semicircles. This division is typically made by a straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle, known as the diameter. Each of the two resulting parts is a semicircle, a fundamental shape in geometry.

The properties of a splitcircle are directly related to those of a full circle. The area of each semicircle is exactly half the area of the original circle. Similarly, the arc length of each semicircle is half the circumference of the original circle. The straight edge of each semicircle is the diameter, which is a chord passing through the center.

Splitcircles are frequently encountered in various fields. In design and architecture, they can be used to create aesthetically pleasing patterns or to divide spaces. In mathematics, semicircles are fundamental building blocks for more complex shapes and are used in calculating areas and volumes of various objects. For example, a dome can be approximated as a collection of semicircles. The concept also appears in the study of graphs, where a split graph is a graph whose vertices can be partitioned into a clique and an independent set. While the graph theory term is distinct, the visual representation of a divided circle can sometimes be used as an analogy.