An octahedral shape is a three-dimensional geometric figure that has eight triangular faces. Each face meets at a point called a vertex, and an octahedron has six vertices in total. This shape is commonly found in various fields, including chemistry, where certain molecules adopt an octahedral geometry. In mathematics, the octahedron is one of the five Platonic solids, which are regular, convex polyhedra with identical faces. The octahedron can also be visualized as two square pyramids joined at their bases. This unique structure makes it an important concept in both geometry and crystallography, where it helps describe the arrangement of atoms in certain crystals, such as sodium chloride.