How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube?


Introduction

Erno Rubik is the one who came up with the idea for the Rubik's cube in 1974, which has since become an immensely popular and difficult puzzle. The Hungarian architecture teacher trying to explain to his students the fundamentals of three-dimensional space utilized a puzzle as the base for his explanation. The inventor initially coined the ‘Rubik’s cube puzzle, ' known worldwide as the 'Magic cube’. Sometimes solving a Rubik’s cube can become frustrating for people because they can never reach the end of the cube and solve it.

Overview of Rubik’s Cube

The Rubik's cube has been manufactured in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and features a wide range of unique twists and turns. There are around 36 lakh potential combinations when using a Rubik's cube 2 by 2 by 2, also known as the Pocket cube. The standard original 3 by 3 by 3 Rubik's cube has around 43 quintillion possible combinations. The sizes of these Rubik's cube continues to increase to a Rubik's cube of size 10 by 10 by 10. On the other hand, it is a well-known fact that a typical Rubik's cube may be solved in twenty steps, beginning with any particular combination.

Structure of Rubik’s Cube

Rubik's cube 3 by 3 consists of 6 solid colors, which are red, white, yellow, green, blue, and orange. A standard 3x3x3 Rubik's cube is made up of 26 cubes. These cubes consist of 6 centerpieces, 8 corner pieces, a center shaft frame, and 12 edge pieces. The color of the cubes is called facelets. The centerpieces have one facelet, the corner pieces have 3 facelets each, and the edge faces have 2 facelets each. Every piece of the cube consists of a closed inward extension that interlinks with other pieces, and this mechanism enables the pieces to move to different locations, solving the Rubik's cube. A Rubik's cube may be solved using any one of several different strategies that have been developed over the years. No matter what combination of colored cubes you have in your Rubik's cube, the following article will walk you through how to solve it using a tried-and-true approach known as the Beginner's method, which is highly recommended.

How to Solve a Rubik's Cube Like a Newbie?

In this method, there are three different layers described which are termed as 'the first layer,' followed by 'the middle layer,' and finally 'the last layer,' that are solved one after the other. The steps involved in solving a Rubik’s cube are described in detail as follows −

Step 1 – The First Layer

For people trying to solve this for the first time, it is recommended that they start with a white face. After this, the user must find the face where the white face is placed at the center and keep that face on the top. Then the user must set the four white edge pieces into position. The color of the edges must match the white center and all the other centers in the cube. This process usually takes up to 5 or 6 steps to achieve. Then the user must solve the first layer by bringing all the white-colored cubelets to any face of the cube by solving the four corners one by one at a time. After the first layer is completed, the cube will have a full white face, and the other faces will have 4 cubelets with the same color and 5 different colored cubelets.

Step 2 – The Middle Layer

The user needs to place the four edge pieces in the middle layer. To solve the middle layer, the user can follow any algorithm. One similar easy algorithm is to move the pieces in the following directions – right, up, left, down, left, move one row to the right, right, and move one row to the left. The center layer of the Rubik's cube may be solved using the method above. Solving the middle layer of a Rubik's cube requires getting one face with all white cubelets and the other with 2 rows of the same color and 1 row of a different color.

Step 3 – The Last Layer

The remaining corners of the Rubik's cube must be placed in their correct locations at this stage of the solution process. One should first find 2 adjacent corners with the same color and then turn the top layer until these 2 cubelets are placed in the face containing the same color. Now one should locate each color on the corner of the top layer. To set their orientation to the correct order, the following style must be followed – up, left, down, left, up, left, left, down, left, and again left. This algorithm must place all the edge cubelets in their correct desired position. If only one edge cubelet is found to be placed in its desired position, then do the following order – up, right, down, right, right, up, right, and down. Now that all the edges have been orientated to their correct positions, the Rubik's cube has been solved.

Following the given instructions, you can solve a Rubik's cube. Putting up the time and effort to solve a Rubik's cube is the best approach to becoming proficient at it. This allows one to solve the cube repeatedly, gaining experience each time quickly. It's important to remember the sequence in which the colors appear on each side of the cube and where they are placed.

Conclusion

The white side of the cube would be on top, the red side would be in the front, the blue side would be on the right, the green side would be on the left, the yellow side would be on the bottom. Using several algorithms is another crucial factor to consider while attempting to solve a Rubik's cube. Solving a Rubik's cube is a daunting task for anyone who needs to learn these algorithms. Users may save time and effort solving the Rubik's cube with algorithms. Australian Jack Kai set a new world record by solving a single Rubik's cube in under 16.2 seconds while wearing a blindfold. In 6.88 seconds, Feliks Zemdegs set a new world record for solving a Rubik's cube with one hand.

Updated on: 16-Jun-2023

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