Rarely can we afford the joy of doing absolutely nothing when we give rest to our arms, legs, head and the whole body. Most often, it only seems to us that we are messing around. This is because a person is very active in nature. He is bored and incomprehensible amorphous movement in life. If you already had a free minute, then he can set an original goal. For example, collect a Rubik's cube. The instruction for collecting this puzzle is very specific, but to understand it is quite real.
Some historical facts
More than 40 years ago, the Hungarian sculptor Erno Rubik showed the world his famous puzzle, which was named just by the name of the author. Then the inventor was teaching industrial design and architecture. There is a version that he came up with a cube for a study guide, with which you can clearly explain the basics of the mathematical theory of groups. The inventor posed a difficult task for students - to make individual cubes freely rotate in places, without damaging the constructive unity of the puzzle. Accordingly, Rubik's friends and students became the first testers.
In 1975, the Rubik's Cube was patented, but only two years later, the production of an industrial batch of cubes was established. The first to start them was the small Budapest cooperative, which positioned the Rubik's Cube as a Christmas toy. The assembly instructions were not attached, but the subject was seduced by an abundance of colors and its mystery. The toy became truly universal and was offered to all categories of the population. The second surge in popularity occurred when the cube was seen in the hands of a waiter by a German entrepreneur Tibor Lakzi, keen on mathematics. He began to promote the product in tandem with Tom Kremer - a successful inventor of games. Together, they were able to launch a “cubic” invasion and release more than 100 million toys.
Time frame
So, for how long can I collect a Rubik's cube? The instruction is not particularly attractive to beginner "puzzle gamers." And therefore it will be necessary to collect long and painfully. Many do not stand up and quit what they started halfway. But the assembly of this puzzle perfectly develops motor skills, stimulates the work of thought, calms and helps to understand yourself. Over time, people realize that randomly assembling a puzzle is very difficult. We have to resort to proven algorithms. Many "sit down" and switch to high-speed assembly. Such people are called "speedcubers," and the process itself is called "speedcubing." Even official competitions are held under the auspices of the World Cube Association. To date, a world record of 5.55 seconds has been set. It was installed by Mats Wolf. Before him, the world record belonged to Felix Zemdegs and amounted to 5.66 seconds. According to unofficial data, he also achieved a result of 4.79 seconds.
For beginners
So, you have a Rubik's Cube in your hands. The assembly instructions have not yet been studied by you and you want to understand for yourself how the puzzle works. The toy has 6 sides in different colors. Upon purchase, all sides are assembled and have cubes of the same color. Give imagination to take a walk and spin the cube in all axes for a minute. As a result, before you is an intricate puzzle that, it would seem, cannot be unraveled. Many recommend that before direct assembly, completely disassemble the cube into parts to make sure the mechanism is correct. If everything is correct, then you can start the process. The assembly for beginners consists of seven stages, each of which is quite achievable even for a child.
Step-by-step instruction: how to collect a Rubik's Cube
You will need to focus on the white side. Imagine this is the base that holds the entire structure. After each “fraud”, check the white side so that its integrity is not damaged. At the first stage, collect a white cross, and where there is a white square in the center. Note that the center sectors on each side suggest which color to collect. At the second stage, you need to collect the corners of the white side. Next come the ribs of the white layer, the cross in the last row. After that, you need to proceed to the arrangement of the edges and corners of the last layer and to the corner turn.
Among the most common
Very popular instructions for assembling the Rubik's Cube by Jessica Friedrich. This is a fast assembly method that does not require storing a large number of formulas. The main thing is to understand the principle. In the process, a cross is going on one side. The first layer is collected simultaneously with the second. The following is the orientation and rearrangement of the elements of the upper layer.
On intuition
If you don’t want to memorize formulas at all, then you will like the step-by-step instruction of the Rubik's cube according to the method of Valery Morozov. Here you need to learn the basic principles of assembly. First, eight corner elements are assembled. Then four ribs in the middle layer are collected in a cross on their sides. The remaining eight edges must form regular pairs. In conclusion, the six central sectors are set on their verge.
We go in strips
If you have already tried and even managed to assemble a puzzle, then you can try the so-called strip method. It is suitable for a 5 * 5 cube, but it is better to train on the reduced version - 3 * 3.
To master the method, you need to be able to distinguish between sides and own the rotation of the cube clockwise and against it. Assembly begins with the notorious white cross. Then it needs to be extended to the corner elements. Your task is to achieve the coincidence of the central elements of the sides with the upper ones, which depart from the white cross. White corner elements need to be moved to the same side. An inexperienced person can master the Rubik's cube in this way. Assembly instructions for beginners of this type are not so simple, but they give consistent instructions. Get ready for the fact that this is not an easy task.
Basic knowledge
So it turns out that many people themselves come up with an algorithm for how to assemble a Rubik's Cube. Step-by-step instructions are not particularly important to them. Maybe you, too, will be able to invent your own method? Everything is possible, but there is basic knowledge that will be useful to every person. So, the cube has a frame - a cross on which the central parts are mounted. All elements are mobile, and the cube itself spins in all directions. For the base, they usually take the white side, and the opposite - usually yellow. Rotation of parts is possible clockwise, against it and 180 degrees. It is further known that the simplest assembly scheme includes seven sequential steps. The first is always going to white cross
Main stage
So, here is a Rubik's Cube, an instruction for beginners, and in stock - about half an hour. This is enough to master the basics of assembly. Initially, do not chase time. Practice and only practice will help you become a speedcuber. In the meantime, try to master the main stage - the assembly of the cross. By the way, successful speedcubers perform it intuitively, since there are no formulas. The main thing is to find the side where the white cube is in the center. Remember that each edge cube has two colors and, accordingly, it must coincide with two centers - with white and color. Now check the side with a white center for white edges. If they are, then simply rotate the bottom of the cube to match the edge to the second center. Now look at the opposite side: if there are white edge faces there, then it is quite simple to return them to the white side. The remaining elements can be adjusted upward by raising the cube with the white side to the top and turning it to the center.
Start the build process
The first two layers can be laid out quite simply. This is a very problematic moment for those who are considering how to assemble a Rubik's Cube. Instructions for beginners will be a visual aid, but in general, this step can be performed intuitively. The main problem with this is the installation of corner cubes in the first layer. The speedcubers have a special trick for this, which they call "bang-bang." Incidentally, he also has his own formula. Try to always keep the cube down with the white center (and side, respectively). Look for a side cube that matches the colors of the border sides. Lift the side face up, and then take it to the side, opposite from the side of the cross that "went" to the other side. The mechanism for aligning the corner cubes remains identical - searching for the cube in the color framework, drawing it to the desired field, and then moving it to the side with the “new” cube. After installing the corner cubes in the bottom layer, you can go to the second bottom. The algorithm is similar, but finding cubes is getting harder and longer. These same rib cubes are set in place using one formula and its mirror image. Before building, you need to rotate the top layer and set the edge cube in the right place. Always make sure that the color of the side face matches the color of the center sector of the middle layer. Yes, and do not destroy the upper white cross. If you are building a white side, then your integrity will not be a priori violated, but if the color side is assembled, the destruction of the white cross is fraught with complete chaos in the puzzle. Similar mirror repetitions can completely collect the white side and the two lower layers on each side. Plus, as a result of your work, the central sectors of the parties should coincide with the centers. Now you have the final step - collecting the corner cubes on the upper side.
Many people in their free time collect the Rubik's Cube and try to do it faster and easier than others. Since 1980, the search began for the so-called God algorithm for high-speed assembly. Mathematicians, programmers and just lovers of scientific puzzles are looking for a method to solve the puzzle in a minimum number of moves. In 2010, programmer Thomas Rokiki, mathematicians Herbert Kotsemba and Morley Davidson, as well as engineer John Detridge were able to prove that any puzzle configuration can be solved in 20 moves maximum. In this case, any turn of the face is considered to be a move.