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Pyraminx Solved
The Pyraminx () is a regular tetrahedron puzzle in the style of Rubik's Cube. It was made and patented by Uwe Mèffert after the original 3 layered Rubik's Cube by Ernő Rubik, and introduced by Tomy Toys of Japan (then the 3rd largest toy company in the world) in 1981. Description The Pyraminx was first conceived by Mèffert in 1970. He did nothing with his design until 1981 when he first brought it to Hong Kong for production. Uwe is fond of saying had it not been for Ernő Rubik's invention of the cube, his Pyraminx would have never been produced. The Pyraminx is a puzzle in the shape of a regular tetrahedron, divided into 4 axial pieces, 6 edge pieces, and 4 trivial tips. It can be twisted along its cuts to permute its pieces. The axial pieces are octahedral in shape, although this is not immediately obvious, and can only rotate around the axis they are attached to. The 6 edge pieces can be freely permuted. The trivial tips are so called because they can be twisted in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyraminx Solved
The Pyraminx () is a regular tetrahedron puzzle in the style of Rubik's Cube. It was made and patented by Uwe Mèffert after the original 3 layered Rubik's Cube by Ernő Rubik, and introduced by Tomy Toys of Japan (then the 3rd largest toy company in the world) in 1981. Description The Pyraminx was first conceived by Mèffert in 1970. He did nothing with his design until 1981 when he first brought it to Hong Kong for production. Uwe is fond of saying had it not been for Ernő Rubik's invention of the cube, his Pyraminx would have never been produced. The Pyraminx is a puzzle in the shape of a regular tetrahedron, divided into 4 axial pieces, 6 edge pieces, and 4 trivial tips. It can be twisted along its cuts to permute its pieces. The axial pieces are octahedral in shape, although this is not immediately obvious, and can only rotate around the axis they are attached to. The 6 edge pieces can be freely permuted. The trivial tips are so called because they can be twisted in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Permutation Group
In mathematics, a permutation group is a group ''G'' whose elements are permutations of a given set ''M'' and whose group operation is the composition of permutations in ''G'' (which are thought of as bijective functions from the set ''M'' to itself). The group of ''all'' permutations of a set ''M'' is the symmetric group of ''M'', often written as Sym(''M''). The term ''permutation group'' thus means a subgroup of the symmetric group. If then Sym(''M'') is usually denoted by S''n'', and may be called the ''symmetric group on n letters''. By Cayley's theorem, every group is isomorphic to some permutation group. The way in which the elements of a permutation group permute the elements of the set is called its group action. Group actions have applications in the study of symmetries, combinatorics and many other branches of mathematics, physics and chemistry. Basic properties and terminology Being a subgroup of a symmetric group, all that is necessary for a set of permutatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combination Puzzles
A combination puzzle, also known as a sequential move puzzle, is a puzzle which consists of a set of pieces which can be manipulated into different combinations by a group of operations. Many such puzzles are mechanical puzzles of polyhedral shape, consisting of multiple layers of pieces along each axis which can rotate independently of each other. Collectively known as twisty puzzles, the archetype of this kind of puzzle is the Rubik's Cube. Each rotating side is usually marked with different colours, intended to be scrambled, then 'solved' by a sequence of moves that sort the facets by colour. As a generalisation, combination puzzles also include mathematically defined examples that have not been, or are impossible to, physically construct. Description A combination puzzle is solved by achieving a particular combination starting from a random (scrambled) combination. Often, the solution is required to be some recognisable pattern such as "all like colours together" or "all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dogic
The Dogic () is an icosahedron-shaped puzzle like the Rubik's Cube. The 5 triangles meeting at its tips may be rotated, or 5 entire faces (including the triangles) around the tip may be rotated. It has a total of 80 movable pieces to rearrange, compared to the 20 pieces in the Rubik's Cube. History The Dogic was patented by Zsolt and Robert Vecsei in Hungary on 20 October 1993. The patent was granted 28 July 1998 (HU214709). It was originally sold by VECSO in two variants under the names "Dogic" and "Dogic 2", but was only produced in quantities far short of the demand. In 2004, Uwe Mèffert acquired the plastic molds from its original manufacturer at the request of puzzle fans and collectors worldwide, and made another production run of the Dogics. These Dogics were first shipped in January 2005, and are now being sold by Meffert in his puzzle shop, ''Meffert's'' until September 2010 when the lack of interest for Meffert's Dogics made Uwe Meffert stop his Dogic production r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megaminx
The Megaminx or Mégaminx (, ) is a dodecahedron-shaped puzzle similar to the Rubik's Cube. It has a total of 50 movable pieces to rearrange, compared to the 20 movable pieces of the Rubik's Cube. History The Megaminx, or Magic Dodecahedron, was invented by several people independently and produced by several different manufacturers with slightly different designs. Uwe Mèffert eventually bought the rights to some of the patents and continues to sell it in his puzzle shop under the Megaminx moniker. It is also known by the name Hungarian Supernova, invented by Dr. Christoph Bandelow. His version came out first, shortly followed by Meffert's Megaminx. The proportions of the two puzzles are slightly different. Description The Megaminx is made in the shape of a dodecahedron, and has 12 faces and center pieces, 20 corner pieces, and 30 edge pieces. The face centers each have a single color, which identifies the color of that face in the solved state. The edge pieces have t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skewb
The Skewb () is a combination puzzle and a mechanical puzzle in the style of the Rubik's Cube. It was invented by Tony Durham and marketed by Uwe Mèffert. Although it is cubical in shape, it differs from Rubik's construction in that its axes of rotation pass through the corners of the cube rather than the centres of the faces. There are four such axes, one for each space diagonal of the cube. As a result, it is a ''deep-cut'' puzzle in which each twist affects all six faces. Mèffert's original name for this puzzle was the ''Pyraminx Cube'', to emphasize that it was part of a series including his first tetrahedral puzzle. the Pyraminx. The catchier name Skewb was coined by Douglas Hofstadter in his ''Metamagical Themas'' column. Mèffert liked the new name enough to apply it to the Pyraminx Cube, and also named some of his other puzzles after it, such as the Skewb Diamond. Higher-order Skewbs, named Master Skewb and Elite Skewb, have also been made. In December 2013, Skewb was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V-Cube 8
The V-Cube 8 is an 8×8×8 version of the Rubik's Cube. Unlike the original puzzle (but like the 4×4×4 and 6×6×6 cubes), it has no fixed facets: the center facets (36 per face) are free to move to different positions. The design was covered by Panagiotis Verdes' patent from 2007 but Verdes Innovations SA did not produce it for sale until 2014. Other 8×8×8 cubes are produced by various Chinese companies. Methods for solving the 3×3×3 cube work for the edges and corners of the 8×8×8 cube, as long as one has correctly identified the relative positions of the colors — since the center facets can no longer be used for identification. Mechanics The puzzle consists of 296 pieces ("Cubies") on the surface. There are also 84 movable pieces entirely hidden within the interior of the cube, as well as six fixed pieces attached to the central "spider" frame. The V-Cube 9 uses essentially the same mechanism, except that on the latter these hidden pieces (corresponding to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V-Cube 7
The V-Cube 7 is a combination puzzle in the form of a 7×7×7 cube. The first mass-produced 7×7×7 was invented by Panagiotis Verdes and is produced by the Greek company Verdes Innovations SA. Other such puzzles have since been introduced by a number of Chinese companies, some of which have mechanisms which improve on the original. Like the 5×5×5, the V-Cube 7 has both fixed and movable center facets. Mechanics The puzzle consists of 218 unique miniature cubes ("cubies") on the surface. Six of these (the central tiles of the six faces) are attached directly to the internal "spider" frame and are fixed in position relative to one another. The V-Cube 6 uses essentially the same mechanism, except that on the latter the central rows, which hold the rest of the pieces together, are completely hidden. There are 150 center pieces which show one color each, 60 edge pieces which show two colors each, and eight corner pieces which show three colors each. Each piece (or quintet of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V-Cube 6
The V-Cube 6 is a 6×6×6 version of the original Rubik's Cube. The first mass-produced 6×6×6 was invented by Panagiotis Verdes and is produced by the Greek company Verdes Innovations SA. Other such puzzles have since been introduced by a number of Chinese companies, most of which have mechanisms which improve on the original. Unlike the original puzzle (but like the 4×4×4 cube), it has no fixed facets: the center facets (16 per face) are free to move to different positions. Methods for solving the 3×3×3 cube work for the edges and corners of the 6×6×6 cube, as long as one has correctly identified the relative positions of the colors — since the center facets can no longer be used for identification. Mechanics The puzzle consists of 152 pieces ("cubies") on the surface. There are also 66 pieces (60 movable, 6 fixed, and a central "spider" frame) entirely hidden within the interior of the cube. The V-Cube 7 uses essentially the same mechanism, except that on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professor's Cube
The 5x5 Rubik's Cube (also known as the Professor's Cube) is a 5×5×5 version of the original Rubik's Cube. It has qualities in common with both the 3×3×3 Rubik's Cube and the 4×4×4 4x4 Rubik's Cube, and solution strategies for both can be applied the 5x5 Rubik's Cube. History The 5x5 Rubik's cube was invented by Udo Krell in 1981. Out of the many designs that were proposed, Udo Krell's design was the first 5×5×5 design that was manufactured and sold. Uwe Mèffert manufactured the cube and sold it in Hong Kong in 1983. Ideal Toys, who first popularized the original 3x3x3 Rubik's cube, marketed the 5x5x5 cube in Germany as the "Rubik's Wahn" (Wahn means illusion or delusion). When the 5x5x5 cube was marketed in Japan, it was marketed under the name "Professor's Cube". Mèffert reissued the cube under the name "Professor's Cube" in the 1990s. The early versions of the 5×5×5 cube sold at Barnes & Noble were marketed under the name "Professor's Cube" but currently, Barnes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubik's Revenge
The 4x4 Rubik's Cube (also known as the Rubik's Revenge) is a 4×4×4 version of the Rubik's Cube. It was released in 1981. Invented by Péter Sebestény, the cube was nearly called the Sebestény Cube until a somewhat last-minute decision changed the puzzle's name to attract fans of the original Rubik's Cube. Unlike the original puzzle (and other odd-numbered puzzles like the 5×5×5 cube), it has no fixed facets: the centre facets (four per face) are free to move to different positions. Methods for solving the 3×3×3 cube work for the edges and corners of the 4×4×4 cube, as long as one has correctly identified the relative positions of the colours—since the centre facets can no longer be used for identification. Mechanics The puzzle consists of 56 unique miniature cubes ("cubies") on the surface. These consist of 24 centres which show one colour each, 24 edges which show two colours each, and 8 corners which show three colours each. The original Rubik's Revenge c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocket Cube
The 2x2 Rubik's Cube (also known as the Pocket Cube or Mini Cube) is a 2×2×2 version of the Rubik's Cube. The cube consists of 8 pieces, all corners. History In March 1970, Larry D. Nichols invented a 2×2×2 "Puzzle with Pieces Rotatable in Groups" and filed a Canadian patent application for it. Nichols's cube was held together with magnets. Nichols was granted on April 11, 1972, two years before Rubik invented his Cube. Nichols assigned his patent to his employer Moleculon Research Corp., which sued Ideal in 1982. In 1984, Ideal lost the patent infringement suit and appealed. In 1986, the appeals court affirmed the judgment that Rubik's 2×2×2 Pocket Cube infringed Nichols's patent, but overturned the judgment on Rubik's 3×3×3 Cube. Permutations Any permutation of the eight corners is possible (8 ! positions), and seven of them can be independently rotated (37 positions). There is nothing identifying the orientation of the cube in space, reducing the positions by a fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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