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.

Rubik's Cube in mathematics and science

The Rubik's Cube is of interest to many mathematicians, partly because it is a tangible representation of a mathematical group. Additionally, a parallel between Rubik's Cube and particle physics was noted by mathematician Solomon W. Golomb, and then extended and modified by Anthony E. Durham. Essentially, clockwise and counter-clockwise "twists" of corner cubies may be compared to the electric charges of quarks (+2/3 and −1/3) and antiquarks (−2/3 and +1/3). Feasible combinations of cubie twists are paralleled by allowable combinations of quarks and antiquarks—both cubie twist and the quark/antiquark charge must total to an integer. Combinations of two or three twisted corners may be compared to various hadrons. This, however, is not always feasible.

Related Topics:
Mathematician - Tangible representation of a mathematical group - Particle physics - Solomon W. Golomb - Anthony E. Durham - Electric charge - Quark - Hadron

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