If you’re practicing and you want to scramble a solved cube, you have to keep the cube intact and scramble it up manually. This is a trap that has caught many novice cubers. Now, is it always possible to solve this jumbled cube, without breaking it apart? You get what looks like a normal scrambled cube, and so far we’ve counted every way you could do this, (3 88!)(2 1212!). Suppose you break open a Rubik’s Cube, remove each cubie, and then put all the cubies back in random slots (with corner cubies only fitting in the corners, and edge cubies only in the edges). Here’s a thought experiment (which perhaps you’ve done for real!) to illustrate: It relates to a fact about Rubik’s Cube that is often felt, but not always understood. What’s left of the formula (3 88!)(2 1212!)/12 is that division by 12. Then there are 12 locations, so 12! is the number of ways they can go to those spots. Edges only have two orientations, so the 12 of them have a total of 2 12 mixes of orientations. The next chunk, (2 1212!), is the same idea, now for the edges. The 3 8 is their orientations, while the 8! is their locations. Thus the first chunk, (3 88!), counts every way the corner cubies can fit into the cube. That yields the calculation 8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1, which is 8!, or “eight factorial.” The second corner cubie is left with seven options, the next left with six, and so on, down to the last corner cubie, which must go in the last corner slot. There are eight corner slots, so the first corner cubie has eight options. Giant Jagged Rubik's Cube Is a Beautiful Nightmare.

This Robot Can Solve a Rubik's Cube with One Hand.

Cubo de rubik colores