How long does a rubik cube last

All cubes wear out eventually, as far as being a really good speedcube is concerned. A worn out cube can make a good one-handed cube in some cases though, because it will tend to be a bit looser. My oldest store bought cube, which I currently use as my one-handed cube, is 11 years old.

However, my best speedcubes wear out within months and I replace them with new ones. Click to expand JTW BattsMan. Tim Major Platinum Member. Raffael Member. Forte Member. Raffael said:. LewisJ Member. Joined Nov 4, Messages In other words it proves that any scramble can be solved by twisting just 5 sides. Joined Jul 13, Messages I used to be in your situation, with an old heavy use storebought and nasty fumey lube. In the following guide and others, we will be referring to certain moves when revealing algorithms for solving the cube.

These are standard nomenclature, and they are as follows courtesy of The Official Rubik's Cube Site :. Note the use of the letter "i" on some moves. This just means that a move is 'inverted', or reversed. You will also see greyed-out squares on most images. This just means the block is not in its correct place and its color on the real cube does not matter. For all algorithms provided, it is important to try and visualize the block moving around, and why the move is being made.

In most cases, the algorithm will be an even number of moves, to first move the piece and then "repair" the locations of any solved pieces in the rest of the cube with the exception of the first stage and especially the last stage. At all times, bear in mind the bigger picture. Solving a Rubik's cube essentially follows a master plan. While the above sounds simple in theory, the process requires you to know a few "tricks," in order to achieve it.

These are essentially little sub-algorithms used to manipulate the pieces into place. We'll dedicate the rest of this article to showing you these algorithms, in order to complete the above "master plan" algorithm. Most of this guide will borrow heavily from the Rubik's cube official guide , as well as the amazing guide from Ruwix. The author also only recently learned how to solve a Rubik's cube; and if I can do it so can you! As previously mentioned, the first thing to do is pick one side to solve first.

The convention is to use the white side on a standard cube, but it doesn't really matter. However, if one side has some added detail, like a decal or images of some kind, you might want to solve this one first as it will add unnecessary complications later on. The aim here is to produce a cross, usually called the "white cross". Since this is the simplest stage, it is highly recommended you attempt to do this through trial and error. Once you've mastered this, you will be using many of the same moves to solve the middle layer too.

First, move the white side to the top of the cube. For most of the process, the "top" layer will be your "working" layer where you move pieces around and then "drop" them into the lower layers, with the exception of this stage and the final stage as they are the "top".

Move each edge piece to the top row and then move them to match the white on top and the color on a particular side. You need to learn how to do this intuitively, as the starting "state" of a cube will vary widely. If you need some help with those pieces that are in the top row but not orientated properly, you can flip them using the following sequence: -. Rinse and repeat for all other edge pieces. Once your cube looks like the image on the right above, move to the next stage.

Below is a worked example of the steps for moving one edge piece into place. The exact location and method needed for yours will vary, obviously.

Remember, we have greyed out any blocks where the exact color is not important on your cube. Keep moving the edge pieces into their correct places until you have the "White Cross". You can refer to the other guides if you need help with some of the pieces, but we stress that you should try to solve this on your own. When you have the white cross, move to the next stage, but only if the edge pieces are in the correct order i.

Researchers are still unsure whether algorithms exist that can solve NP-complete problems faster. Figuring out whether any given configuration of a cube will take fewer moves is tricky. This minimizes time-consuming pauses and can give observers the impression that a speedcuber is solving the cube in one uninterrupted string of maneuvers.

Using algorithms and look-ahead, the most fleet-fingered cubers in the world average between 50 and 60 moves per solve, which they can execute almost without thinking.

But there's one variable we still haven't accounted for: Luck. On rare occasion, by sheer chance, a cube will be scrambled in such a way that it requires fewer moves than usual to solve think 40 to 50 moves, instead of 50 to On rarer occasions still, a lucky scramble will find itself in the hands of a world-class cuber. And on the rarest occasions of all, that cuber will execute their algorithms not just swiftly but seamlessly, dancing through their solution with near-perfect fluidity.

When all these things happen at once, an incredible time can materialize seemingly out of nowhere. That's precisely what happened last May, when Zemdegs performed a single solve in a then-unprecedented 4. And it's what happened just six months later, when, at a competition in Wuhu, China, a relatively unknown speedcuber named Yusheng Du solved a cube in just 3.

It's not that he didn't think somebody would break his record "I've had enough of them broken over the years that I'm pretty numb to it by now," he says , he just didn't expect it to fall so quickly, or by so much.

Not since , when the single solve record jumped from 8. And yet, Zemdegs knows there are even faster solves on the horizon.