Pocket Cube

The Pocket Cube, also known as Mini Cube, is the 2 × 2 × 2 variant of Ernő Rubik's Cube. Each of the six side surfaces is composed of four squares each page have the same color. It consists of eight sections that carry all three colors and match the cornerstones of the normal Rubik's Cube. But he has no edge or center parts. The aim of the game is patience, as well as in the larger version, by 90 ° rotations to transform the cube of a disordered position out to the three central axes in its parent ground state.

History

The Pocket Cube 1980 filed by Rubik 's patent. But there are also patents for other versions of the puzzle that partially have a completely different shape, such as the head of a Mickey Mouse. Noteworthy are the Pyramorphix still having the shape of a tetrahedron, but the same mechanism of rotation as the pocket cube used and therefore changes its shape when rotated, the side surfaces. The principle is based also a star-shaped version.

The current world record for speed cubing with the Pocket Cube holds Christian Kaserer from South Tyrol with a time of 0.69 seconds.

Combinations and difficulty

Each of the eight stones may occupy any space in the cube and has three orientations because each has three different colors. Since the Pocket Cube no fixed parts never change their position to one another, he also has no orientation in space: A corner cube can be regarded as correct, then remain seven places for the other parts. This leads to a theoretical limit of (8-1)! 3 (8-1) = 11,022,480 different positions. Mechanism can be accepted conditionally, only a third of what a number of 7! 36 = 3.67416 million leads.

In fact, every corner solution of the normal cube is a solution for the Pocket Cube. Due to the small number of positions it can be calculated algorithmically, even by brute force. It turned out that there is always a maximum of eleven movements (90 - and 180 ° - Dehungen ) are needed to solve the Pocket Cube. Count the 180 ° turns than 2 turns, the maximum required number of movements is 14

For beginners, it is puzzling that no fixed parts exist. You have to combine the correct position of the stones another on the basis of the cornerstones. Although there are not very many positions, also the Pocket Cube can hardly intuitive dissolve completely. The second layer requires one or more traits that have to occur even in the normal Rubik's Cube, just the trains that sort the corners and oriented correctly.

Mechanics

Pocket Cube by East Sheen

The mechanism of the Pocket Cube by East Sheen deviates largely from the mechanism of a normal 3 × 3 × 3 Rubik 's Cube from. Each level of the cube consists of three "layers". The untereste layer is on the photo below the left most black, approximately hemispherical -shaped piece of plastic. It is the top layer, a small circular black plastic disk - the far right, just below the green area - firmly connected. Between them there is another black plastic part. It is rotatable between these two layers, so that on him now, here are the green surface, mounted the stones of the right side. All these three layers can be completely rotate at a different rotation thanks to the excavations of the cornerstone. The to be seen from the outside covers of the cornerstones simply draufgesteckt on the mounts provided.

Corner Pocket Cubes

Pocket Cube of Rubik's

The rotation mechanism of the Pocket Cube of Rubik similar to that of 3 × 3 × 3 Rubik 's Cube.