The Magic of Rubik’s Cube Karen Gillispie

The Magic of the Cube n Ancient Greeks considered cube one of special Platonic solids n Six faces; each of nine squares on every side is one of six colors n Fastest selling toy in world history n Amusing to children; frustrating for adults

Father of the Cube Erno Rubik

Birth of the Cube n Rubik applied for patent n Production in Budapest n Tibor Laczi introduces Ideal Toys to Rubik n Federal court rules Rubik’s Cube infringes on Nichol’s patent

Similar Cubes of the 1970’s n Terutoshi Ishige –applied for Japanese patent –same mechanism as Cube n Larry Nichols –patents 2 X 2 X 2 –rejected repeatedly –cube held together with magnets

The world is stumped... n Mathematicians search for “God’s algorithm” n Clubs, contests, races, championships n Books, magazines n “Cube smasher” n Television fame

Solving the Cube n Rubik needed three months to solve cube n Random twists and turns –3^8 x 2^12 x 8! x 12! conceivable arrangements –one cube solved every three centuries n Sequence of steps –reduces to twists

Solutions and Related Notations n Notation of each side based on orientation to you –front (F), back (B), right (R), left (L), up (U), and down (D) n Notation for turns –clockwise (), counterclockwise (‘), and half- turn (“) –R --clockwise quarter turn of right face –F” --half-turn of front face –B’ --counterclockwise quarter turn of back

Sequences n To get thisfrom this –you simply use F’U’F. n To get this from this –you simply use FRUR’U’RUR’U’RUR’U’F’ n Using similar sequences will solve the entire puzzle

“We turn the Cube and it twists us.” --Rubik

Sources n Winning Way for Your Mathematical Plays. Volume 2: Games in Particular. Berlekamp, Elwin; Conway, John; Guy, Richard. Copyright Academic Press: New York. n n Discover. The Perplexing Life of Erno Rubik. March v7. p81. Copyright Family Media Inc n