Rubik's cube

 

Code Number: 1A50.90

Demo Title: Math Toys - Rubik's Cube

Condition: Good

Principle: Three-Dimensional Perception

Area of Study: Mechanics, Mathematics

Equipment: 

Rubik's Cube Model

Procedure:  

See also: 7E10.50 in Modern. 

The mathematics of solving the cube puzzle is described in the file. If however this does not suffice you can take the puzzle apart and reassemble it in the starting position by prying one of the corners up.

Rubik's Cube Solution Guides

References:

  • D. Rae Carpenter, Jr., "Rubik's Cube Puzzle", TPT, Vol. 20, # 5, May 1982, p. 317.
  • Solomon W. Golomb, "Rubik's Cube and a Model of Quark Confinement", AJP, Vol. 49, #11, Nov. 1981, p. 1030.
  • Corinne Iozzio, "Gleaming The Cuboids", Popular Science, Spring 2018, p. 32 - 33.
  • "Toy Origins", Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, p.169.
  • Jearl Walker,  "Now There Is a Rubik's Magic, a New Puzzle That Provides a Study in Permutation Operators",  The Amateur Scientist,  October, 1987.
  • Ed Sobey, Woody Sobey, "Rubik's Cube", The Way Toys Work, p. 122 - 124.
  • "Rubik's Cube",  The New Illustrated Science and Invention Encyclopedia,  p. 2281 - 2285.
  • Editors of Portable Press, "Rubik's Cube Robot", Strange Science, p. 235.
  • Mark Kennedy, "The Mind Behind the Rubik's Cube Celebrates a Lasting Puzzle", The Des Moines Register, December 4th, 2022.
  • Todd Coopee, "Squaring Off with the Rubik's Cube", Reader's Digest, Sep. 2024, p. 26.