[next] [prev] [up] Date: Wed, 01 Aug 84 11:57:00 -0400 (EDT)
[next] [prev] [up] From: Dan Hoey <hoey@NRL-AIC >
~~~ ~~~ [up] Subject: Pocket cube program

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Date:     Tue, 31 Jul 84 13:47:22 EDT
From:     news@BRL-TGR.ARPA
Subject:  /usr/spool/news/net/sources/397

Path: brl-tgr!seismo!hao!hplabs!zehntel!ihnp4!ihnet!eklhad
From: eklhad@ihnet.UUCP (K. A. Dahlke)
Subject: solve the 2x2x2 Rubix cube in a minimum number of moves
Date: Mon, 30-Jul-84 10:49:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihnet.142
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL

After solving the Rubix cube 4 years ago, I turned my attention to
more interesting (and more difficult) questions.
How can one find the minimum path solution for an arbitrary position?
How far away is the farthest positions?
Is there one position diametrically opposed to start,
or does it fan out into billions?
Recently, I have started playing again, and have made some progress.
Here is a computer program (C/unix) which solves the 2x2x2 cube
in a minimum number of moves.
The 2 cube is not as common as the 3 cube, but it is commercially
available.
If you only have a 3 cube (standard), just ignore the sides and centers,
and use the corners.
This effectively simulates a 2 cube.
Thanks to ATT-BL for the use of their computing facilities.
Later versions may come, if i am ambitious.
Unfortunately, my program cannot be expanded to handle the 3 cube.
Nobody has that much memory/CPU time.
I will have to come up with something better.
Feel free to contact me with any ideas about this subject.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The note is followed by about 1000 lines of c code that I can make
available if you want it.

Unfortunately, the program seems to believe that there are 870 * 729 =
634230 positions of the 2^3, while assiduous cube lovers realize the
number is actually (7! / 2) * 3^6 = 2520 * 729 = 1837080 positions.
The number 870 = 29 * 30 is strange.  I guess it is an approximation of
6! + 5! + 4! + 3! + 2! = 872, since the code for encoding a position as
an integer contains a table of those factorials.

Dan


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