Questions tagged [rubiks-cube]

Questions on the mathematics behind the famed toy invented by Ernő Rubik.

237 questions
0
votes
1 answer

Rubik's cube as $2\times2\times2$ or $2\times2$?

I'm surprised why people call a Rubik's cube as $2 \times2\times2$ or $3\times3\times3$? It's a CUBE! Isn't saying $2\times2$ or $3\times3$ cube (or rather just $2$ or $3$) sufficient?
0
votes
1 answer

How can I swap opposite corners on the same face of a 2x2 Rubik's cube?

I've been experimenting with using Y-permutations to solve the 2x2 cube as described here. I ended up with the cube solved but for a single face where the opposite corners were swapped and disoriented. I managed to solve the cube, but I wonder if…
MathAdam
  • 3,309
0
votes
2 answers

How to create a Rubik's cube type of puzzle that is infeasible to solve?

Is it possible to create a mechanical puzzle, something like the Rubik's cube, that is infeasible to solve in general, but still demonstrably solvable if one knows the scrambling moves. By "infeasible to solve", we mean that there is no general…
0
votes
1 answer

how to evaluate combinations of different configurarations of a rubik's cube

how to calculate the total combination number of an rubik's cube ? and what is the number of combination if we fix one face of it with all matched colours , specifically saying blue one ,?? no. of combination of two adjacent faces , say blue and…
0
votes
0 answers

Rubik's cube computing algorithm

Is it possible to solve a 3x3 Rubik's cube using a tree similar to a 'mini-max game tree' (listing all possible unique moves, then listing further moves from this and so on), or is the sample space too large, given that most combinations require…
1 2
3