So all the while I forgot I brought along a Rubiks Cube with me to the UK and toyed around awhile with it today.
Not your conventional 3x3x3 though:
Yep, its a 2x2x2. I assume solving one is similar to how you would solve the corners of a 3x3x3, but I couldn't be bothered to memorise the algorithms and figure out crap and stuff by myself.
So...Being the lazy engineer I am, decided to solve it in a different way (albeit cheating!):
I was wondering for a moment how the internals of one would work, and (not surprisingly) it was similar to a standard 3x3x3! The internal components as seen in the pic (corner pieces, edge pieces, centre pieces) make up "invisible" components of a 3x3x3 (which are indirectly accessible), only the corner pieces are physically accessible.
Because of this, there is ambiguity of the internal "edge" and "centre" pieces (analogy of a 3x3x3). Well to put it simply, the outside of the cube is a 2x2x2 (even number), you can always make a symmetric turn (i.e. every turn you make splits the cube into two halves). Internally though, its a 3x3x3 in disguise, and you're rotating the "corners" of the 3x3x3. How about the layer sandwiched in between then? It has to be stuck to one of the "corner" pieces as it can't magically stay still in 3d space as nothing else is holding it.
Hence the cube had to be design assymetrically, with three edge and centre faces being physically locked to one of the corners (the unique piece at the top right corner of the pic) to set a datum for the other corner pieces to compare with.
In the pic above you can see half the cube being assembled. Note that those quarter-circle pieces are the "edge" pieces that hold the entire cube in place, if you're missing one the whole cube falls apart. Ingenious how the whole thing is put together!
Remaining two corners. They were a little of a hassle to get in due to its construction (since everything snaps in place in the final product) , but eventually managed to fix it up. Phew!
Fuck solving algorithms, I'd solve the cube faster by dismantling one and piecing it back together
..Ok back to studies
Not your conventional 3x3x3 though:
Yep, its a 2x2x2. I assume solving one is similar to how you would solve the corners of a 3x3x3, but I couldn't be bothered to memorise the algorithms and figure out crap and stuff by myself.
So...Being the lazy engineer I am, decided to solve it in a different way (albeit cheating!):
I was wondering for a moment how the internals of one would work, and (not surprisingly) it was similar to a standard 3x3x3! The internal components as seen in the pic (corner pieces, edge pieces, centre pieces) make up "invisible" components of a 3x3x3 (which are indirectly accessible), only the corner pieces are physically accessible.
Because of this, there is ambiguity of the internal "edge" and "centre" pieces (analogy of a 3x3x3). Well to put it simply, the outside of the cube is a 2x2x2 (even number), you can always make a symmetric turn (i.e. every turn you make splits the cube into two halves). Internally though, its a 3x3x3 in disguise, and you're rotating the "corners" of the 3x3x3. How about the layer sandwiched in between then? It has to be stuck to one of the "corner" pieces as it can't magically stay still in 3d space as nothing else is holding it.
Hence the cube had to be design assymetrically, with three edge and centre faces being physically locked to one of the corners (the unique piece at the top right corner of the pic) to set a datum for the other corner pieces to compare with.
In the pic above you can see half the cube being assembled. Note that those quarter-circle pieces are the "edge" pieces that hold the entire cube in place, if you're missing one the whole cube falls apart. Ingenious how the whole thing is put together!
Remaining two corners. They were a little of a hassle to get in due to its construction (since everything snaps in place in the final product) , but eventually managed to fix it up. Phew!
Fuck solving algorithms, I'd solve the cube faster by dismantling one and piecing it back together
..Ok back to studies
1 comment:
sup RG
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