The temporary period that, once finished, begins again or returns to a previous state is described as cyclical.
The Greek word kyklikós came to Latin as cyclĭcus , which derived in our language as cyclic . It is an adjective that refers to that which is linked to a cycle .
Cycles are temporary periods that follow one another (that is, when they end, they begin again). The set of phases or stages that a periodic phenomenon goes through is also called a cycle.
Something cyclical, therefore, is something that is reiterated periodically or that, after a certain amount of time, returns to a previous state or configuration.
Cyclic time
We speak of cyclical time to refer to the understanding of time as something circular, with repetitive characteristics. The succession of the seasons of the year or the organization of time according to the rainy and dry seasons, for example, belong to this idea of cyclical time.
The Gregorian calendar , which divides each year into twelve months, has linear but also cyclical characteristics. Every year begins in January and ends in December: after December of one year, comes January of another year. The division of time into summer, autumn, winter and spring is also cyclical.
In life there are many periods that seem to get stuck in a cycle that repeats indefinitely. Some of these cyclical periods are not negative, although they can be tedious or difficult to go through, but others can represent authentic emotional blockages that plunge us into a nightmare from which we do not know how to get out.
The Gregorian calendar combines cyclical and linear characteristics.
The adjective applied to numbers
Cyclic numbers , on the other hand, are digits that, when multiplied sequentially, result in a number with the same digits as the original, although in a different order. For a number to belong to this class it is necessary that its successive multiples be cyclic permutations .
For mathematics, a permutation consists of varying the order or way in which the elements of an ordered list (known as a tuple ) or an ordered set are arranged in such a way that there are no repeated elements. In this context we find the concept of cyclic permutation , a case in which there may be some fixed elements, that is, it is possible to establish which ones move cyclically.
Cyclic group
The cyclic group is one that can be generated from a single element; In other words, we can say that in the generating set all the elements can be calculated as powers of one.
This belongs to the scope of abstract algebra, specifically group theory , which focuses on the study of certain algebraic structures, a task that includes their classification, the definition of their properties and the recognition of their applications in all possible fields. that exceed mathematics .
Since any group that arises from an element of the generating group G is, in turn, one of its subgroups, to demonstrate that it is a cyclic group it is sufficient to demonstrate that G is the only one of its subgroups that contains the main element .
The compounds
In the field of chemistry , finally, a cyclic compound has carbon atoms that connect to form a ring. Benzene is a cyclic compound since it has a molecular structure with these properties.
Naphthalene, for its part, is an example of a compound in which there are several rings in a single molecule, and in this case the word "polycyclic" is used to describe it. On the other hand, when a ring contains more than twelve atoms it is called a "macrocyclic" compound.
There are several categories of cyclic compounds , and some of them have subcategories: alicyclic compounds , where we find cycloalkanes and cycloalkenes ; aromatic hydrocarbons , which in turn can be polycyclic ; heterocyclic compounds ; the macrocycles .