Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. It is a plastic cube comprising 26 smaller cubes that rotate around a typically unseen kernel. Each of the nine visible facets on a side of the Rubik's Cube exhibits one of six colors. When the puzzle is solved, each side of the Rubik's Cube is a different color, but the rotation of each face allows the smaller cubes to be rearranged in many different ways. The challenge of the puzzle is to return the cube to its original state, in which each face of the cube consists of nine squares of a single color.

References

• {{note|icnewcastle}} Marshall, Ray. Squaring up to the Rubik challenge. icNewcastle. Retrieved August 15, 2005.
• Handbook of Cubik Math by Alexander H. Frey, Jr. and David Singmaster
• Notes on Rubik's 'Magic Cube' ISBN 0-89490-043-9 by David Singmaster
• Metamagical Themas by Douglas R. Hofstadter contains two insightful chapters regarding Rubik's Cube and similar puzzles, originally published as articles in the March 1981 and July 1982 issues of Scientific American.
• Four-Axis Puzzles by Anthony E. Durham.
• Mathematics of the Rubik's Cube Design ISBN 0-80593-919-9 by Hana M. Bizek