- [Jared] This is a Speed Cube. It's a special kind of Rubik's Cube that is meant to be solved very quickly. In this video, we'll
learn about speed cubing, the basics of how to solve one, and then we'll take a look
inside to see how it works. This video is sponsored by SpeedCubeShop, your source for all things cubing. (upbeat music) I like Rubik's Cubes. It's a fun 3D puzzle to try
and line up all the colors, and you know what? It's a lot easier to animate than some of these large
scale items I've been doing. So it's a nice little break,
but still an interesting topic. It was invented by Erno Rubik in 1974. This happened in Budapest, Hungary. It was originally called the Magic Cube and it looked a little bit different. In 1980, it was renamed
to the Rubik's Cube. Since then, it's become
a worldwide phenomenon. Lots of other size variations of the cube have also appeared, and these get bigger and bigger and bigger, okay, not that big. The largest one I think
they sell is the 21 x 21 but it's a little more
expensive than the other cubes. But of course, the most
popular one is still the 3 x 3, the original puzzle size. Now, it's fun not just to solve it but to solve it as fast as possible. The problem with the Rubik's Cube is that it wasn't
designed to move quickly. There can be a lot of
friction between the sides as you spin them. Sometimes moving too quickly
can pop one of the pieces and the cube starts to fall apart. Not good if you're
trying to break a record. Those that wanna solve it
quickly are called Speed Cubers and they usually don't use
a regular Rubik's Cube. They use a Speed Cube. The sides turn much easier,
and some of the pieces have rounded edges. This allows you to do something
called corner cutting. This means that before we finish a turn we can start the next one. Remember, it's a Speed Cube,
all about doing it fast. The way you solve one of
these cubes is the same. It just depends on how
much you care about speed. The real question, can you solve one? Maybe, maybe not. Let's go over a few of the basics that might help you get started. The center pieces are fixed in place. They don't move at all,
but they can rotate. These make up the core of the cube which we'll take a closer
look at in just a minute. The rest of the pieces are called cubies and there are 20 of them. These are the pieces that
move around the cube. Simple, right? Just get the 20 cubies in the right place. When first starting out it's pretty exciting
to solve just one color but you have to keep in mind we're not just moving
around individual squares, we're moving around
whole pieces at a time. For example, corner pieces
have three colors on them and these colors will
always move around together so even though you've solved one side, these pieces aren't in the right place until the entire layer is solved. Then you can move on to solve
the cube layer by layer. One of the most popular
methods for speed cubing is called CFOP and this is an acronym which
is made up of other acronyms and, okay, it's not too bad. Stick with me for just a minute. This method solves the
cube starting on the bottom and working your way up. Although this isn't a detailed tutorial, let me at least give you a
general idea of how it works. First, the cross, which will
be solved on the bottom. Remember, the colors have to
line up with the centerpieces on the side, so let's
say this is green here. It would be in the wrong
spot, but since it has blue we're good to go. Next is F2L or first 2 layers. You'll notice we already
have some of it solved. We just need to figure out
these four pairs of pieces. Start with the corner
pieces on the bottom layer and then the edge pieces
on the middle layer. (bright music) Experienced Speed Cubers will
solve these as an F2L pair or first 2 layers pair bringing them both down at the same time. This last layer is a little tricky because you have to
move your pieces around without messing up what you've
already done, which is a lot. There are two steps for this last layer. We start with OLL or
orientation of last layer. This lines up the colors on top while ignoring the side colors. (bright music) Then finally, PLL or
permutation of last layer. This uses special moves to
swap these pieces around until it's completely solved. (bright music) To really master this, you'll
need to learn algorithms or a specific set of steps
to move the pieces around where you want them to go. For example, one of
the last moves might be swapping these three edge pieces around. There's a specific algorithm to do this without messing up any
of the other pieces. There are a few different
methods for solving the cube but the most popular one is the one we just demonstrated, CFOP. But speed cubing or let
alone just solving the cube isn't for everyone, and that's okay. It's still fun to mess around with. Let's dive into the
mechanism of each cube. As we talked about before,
each cube has a core which holds the six
centerpieces for each cube. They're fixed in place,
but they can rotate. Each cube has 8 corner
pieces and 12 edge pieces. For the original Rubik's Cube these pieces have extra
plastic hanging off the side. The plastic holds the cube together. It's a bit more blocky of a design and it has a lot more friction
as the pieces move around which is okay if you're
not worried about speed. The Speed Cube is going to
look a little bit different on the inside. The corner pieces and edge pieces they look a little bit different as well. They're designed to be smooth and sleek and to minimize friction. (bright music) The core of the cube
looks different as well. The Speed Cube has something
called the tension system. It's made up of six springs
that hold the cube together. The core and the screws are fixed in place but the centerpieces are
pushed towards the center by the spring. Because of the springs this
means that the Speed Cube is actually a bit flexible. You can pull the pieces
apart just a little bit. This is one of the reasons that corner cutting works so well. On the regular Rubik's Cube corner cutting is not really possible. You have to completely line up the turn before starting the next one. The tension system on the Speed
Cube is usually adjustable. The caps on the centerpieces come off which exposes a tiny screw. If you happen to have a screwdriver you can tighten the screw which makes the cube less flexible or held together more firm or loosen the screw,
making it more flexible. If possible, you'll wanna
adjust all six screws to the same amount. This allows you to customize your cube just how you like it. A lot of enthusiasts
will also use lubricant on their cube to further
reduce the friction. You can get these lubricants
and do it yourself or you can have it professionally
done by SpeedCubeShop before you even get your cube. As part of the service
they will also make sure that the tension is just right. And if you ever want
to take your cube apart then loosening these screws
can make it much easier. In some cubes, they will use
a technology called MagLev which is short for magnetic levitation. If you put two of the same
poles together on a magnet they will push off of each other. So in the Speed Cube instead
of a spring doing the pushing, the magnets now do the pushing. This eliminates any noise from the springs but also gets rid of even more friction because the magnets
aren't actually touching. Regardless of what
you're using in the core, magnets or springs, there's another place that magnets can be used in the edge and corner pieces. This helps align the
layers as you turn them, so as long as you get close the magnets will pull it back into place. There is a whole community out there that is quite passionate
about speed cubing. They have championships all over the world to see who can solve them the quickest. The current world record for a 3 x 3 solve is just over 3 seconds. That's fast. The Speed Cube shown in this
video was loosely modeled after the MoYu RS3 M. However, there are
quite a few other brands of Speed Cubes as well. SpeedCubeShop, you can
find other sizes of cubes all the way up to that 21 x 21. Good luck solving that one. Not just cubes, but other
puzzle variations as well. Some of them very interesting. SpeedCubeShop is located
in Las Vegas, Nevada, but don't worry they ship worldwide. When you order from their website you'll also be supporting my channel and the animations that I make. For all the fun make sure you
use my link in the description to get a discount at SpeedCubeShop. So have fun speed cubin,
but in the meantime you might wanna watch
another one of my videos. Click one of the cards on screen or click here to subscribe. My name's Jared. Thanks for watching. (bright music)
