From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu  Mon Nov 17 22:05:10 1997
Return-Path: <cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu>
Received: from sun30.aic.nrl.navy.mil by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.8.1/mc) with SMTP
	id WAA01784; Mon, 17 Nov 1997 22:05:10 -0500 (EST)
Precedence: bulk
Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu
Mail-from: From cube-lovers-request@life.ai.mit.edu Mon Nov 17 10:56:56 1997
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 15:53:23 GMT
From: David Singmaster <david.singmaster@sbu.ac.uk>
To: chrono@ibm.net
Cc: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu
Message-Id: <009BD6F9.65F6A7C1.425@ice.sbu.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: 6x6x6 cube design

	I'm sure that this has been mentioned before, but the 6^3
etc. actually introduce no further complications than present on the
4^3 (and 5^3).  There are just more types of center pieces, but they
all behave in much the same way.  In my message on notation and
solution of the 4^3, I gave a method of producing a 3-cycle of center
pieces and it can be used for each class of centre pieces - the puzzle
doesn't get any more interesting, just longer!
	The 6^3 introduces a slightly interesting feature
theoretically in that the center pieces break up into more classes
than one might initially expect because the piece at the (1,2)
location is not in the same class as the piece at the (2,1) location.
(Taking a corner as (0,0).)

DAVID SINGMASTER,  Professor of Mathematics and Metagrobologist
School of Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics
Southbank University, London, SE1 0AA, UK.
Tel: 0171-815 7411;  fax: 0171-815 7499; 
email:  zingmast  or  David.Singmaster  @sbu.ac.uk