In mathematics, a magic cube is the 3-dimensional equivalent of a magic square, that is, a number of integers arranged in a n x n x n pattern such that the sum of the numbers on each row, each column, each pillar and the four main space diagonals is equal to a single number, the so-called magic constant of the cube, denoted M₃(n). It can be shown that if a magic cube consists of the numbers 1, 2, ..., n³, then it has magic constant

An example of a 3 × 3 × 3 magic cube follows:

Top slice:

   8   24   10
  12    7   23
  22   11    9

Middle slice:

  15    1   26
  25   14    3
   2   27   13

Bottom slice:

  19   17    6
   5   21   16
  18    4   20

Note that in this example, no slice is a magic square. In this case, the cube is classed as a simple magic cube.

If, in addition, the numbers on every cross section diagonal also sum up to the cube's magic number, the cube is called a perfect magic cube; otherwise, it is called a semiperfect magic cube. The number n is called the order of the magic cube. If the sums of numbers on a magic cube's broken space diagonals also equal the cube's magic number, the cube is called a pandiagonal cube .

An alternate definition.

In recent years, an alternate definition for the perfect magic cube has gradually come into use. It is based on the fact that a pandiagonal magic square has traditionally been called perfect, because all possible lines sum correctly. This is not the case with the above definition for the cube.

See also

• Magic square
• Perfect magic cube
• Semiperfect magic cube
• Bimagic cube
• Trimagic cube
• Multimagic cube
• Magic tesseract
• Magic hypercube
• Magic cube classes

External link

• MathWorld: Magic Cube
• Harvey Heinz: All about Magic Cubes
• Marián Trenkler: Magic p-dimensional cubes