Ernö Rubik
''We turn the Cube and it twists us.'' --Rubik
Ernö Rubik is most famous for creating his
"wonderful" Rubik's Cube. Most people, when this toy was first
released, didn't believe it would survive.
Yet it became the fastest- selling toy in the world and probably the most
popular puzzle in history. It amused five-year-olds and inspired mathematicians.
It was blamed for divorces. There were imitations, songs, and a plastic hammer
called the Cube Smasher (''to beat it into 43 quintillion pieces''). Saturday
Night Live did a commercial for Rubik's Grenade (whose colors had to be aligned
in ten seconds or else). At one point, books about the Cube (there've been more
than a hundred, in at least a dozen languages) simultaneously occupied the Nos.
1, 2, and 4 spots on the New York Times paperback best-seller lists. Until
recently you could find the Cube on Saturday morning television (on a cartoon
show called Rubik the Amazing Cube). Even today, with the craze over, it's still
used in college math classes dealing with group theory.
Information from: http://www.puzzlesolver.com/puzzle.php?id=29&page=15
Below information Contributed by http://rjr6528.k12.sd.us/cube/rubiks.htm
How to Solve a Rubik's Cube
Introduction
Hello person. This solution is the same one that appears in the instructions for Rubik's Cube. I wrote it all from memory. Yippee.
My personal best time using this solution is 2:16. Once you memorize the sequences, you should be able to solve any cube in 5 minutes or less.
Good luck!
The Notation
R - Turn the Right Face one turn clockwise (push it upwards)
L - Turn the Left Face oen turn clockwise (pull it downwards)
U - Turn the upper slice one turn clockwise (to the left)
D - Turn the lowest slice one turn clockwise (to the right)
Li - Left Face inverse turn (counterclockwise - push it up)
Ri - Right Face inverse turn (counterclockwise - pull down)
Ui - Up Face inverse turn (turn it to the right)
Di - Down Face inverse turn (turn it to the left)
I hope you understood that. Lol.
This is the notation I will be using from now on.
Solving the Green Cross
Sorry, but I really can't help you here. Just get the cube so that it looks like this:
Remember, get the green edge pieces positioned so that the one with the red on it is opposite the one with the orange, and the one with the yellow is opposite the one with the white.
Solving the Green Corners
After you solve the cross, look for corners that either need to be flipped or are right under where they need to be.
Use the sequence in the picture a few times to get the corner to where it needs to be. Make sure that the colors on the corner piece are the same as those on the adjacent edge pieces.
Sometimes, a nasty little situation will arise where the corner is in the correct place, but the non-green colors need to be flipped around. To get out of this, turn the middle slice (the one with the yellow and white edge pieces) two turns down and then do D D. Then turn the middle slice up to the top again. After that, all you need to do is put the corner piece into the bottom layer and then put it where it needs to be.
Once you're done, the cube should look like this:
Solve the Middle Layer Edges
Flip the cube over so that green is on the bottom. There are two sequences you will need to know for this one.
First of all, rotate the layer between the top and bottom layers so that a little "T" is formed on each color.
The first one is used if you see that Ri would position one of the middle layer edge pieces (the picture explains this better):
Simply find an edge piece that needs positioning and do the sequence in the picture to get the edge piece where it needs to be.
The other sequence is the same thing, except the other way around:
Simply do the same procedure to get that edge piece into its place.
If you see an edge piece that is out of place or needs to be flipped (see picture), all you have to do is use either one of the sequences once then reposition the edge piece whee it needs to be.
Here is what the middle layer should look like when it's solved:
Solve the Upper Blue Cross
Now that you have the middle layer solved, it's time to solve the upper blue cross.
If you see any of the patterns in the above picture, use the sequence there until the upper blue cross is solved. Note that there may be other blue pieces that you can see.
This is the easiest step. The hardest one is yet to come. Muahahaha!
Solving the Blue Edges
Rotate the top layer so that the blue-and-red edge piece is where it's supposed to be. Look on the face to the right of that one and see if the blue-yellow edge piece is solved. If it isn't, go back to the red face and do this:
After the yellow one is solved, turn the cube to the white side and see if that edge piece is solved. If not, do the sequence in the picture again and then move the upper face clockwise once. Then all the edges will be solved. Yay!
Position the Upper Corners
This is the hardest sequence to memorize. However, you're almost done!
If the corners aren't in the right places (they may need to be flipped, but if they are..), then find one that's in the right place and do the following sequence until they are solved:
The picture of this step unfortunately didn't copy well, so here's the sequence: U R Ui Li U Ri Ui L
Once the corners are in place, it's time to...
Flip the Blue Corners
This is a simple one. All you have to remember is the sequence for flipping the corners (from the second step) and to keep the red face in front no matter what. The lower layers might get messed up, just keep red in front and keep going!
Ahem. Time for a nice picture:
After you've flipped the corners, the cube might look pretty much solved except for a yellow stripe is on the red side or something. if this is the case, turn the layer(s) until the cube is solved.
Hopefully if you understood my last instruction, the cube will look lke this:
OWNED!!!
Congratulations, you've conquered the cube!
(If not, you will have to start over from the beginning...ouch.)
I hope this worked for you. Happy cubing!
Above information Contributed by http://rjr6528.k12.sd.us/cube/rubiks.htm