Frustrated triangular lattice

Geometrical frustration occurs when a set of degrees of freedom is incompatible with the space it occupies. A purely geometric example of this is the impossibility of close-packing pentagons in two dimensions. Another is atomic magnetic moments with antiferromagnetic interactions. These moments lower their interaction energy by pointing antiparallel to their neighbors.

Frustrated triangular lattice

Geometrical frustration occurs when a set of degrees of freedom is incompatible with the space it occupies. A purely geometric example of this is the impossibility of close-packing pentagons in two dimensions. Another is atomic magnetic moments with antiferromagnetic interactions. These moments lower their interaction energy by pointing antiparallel to their neighbors.