The Rubik's Cube
The summer before my first year at 'Iolani, I attended Aiea Summer Fun. My mom had bought me the Rubik's cube for Christmas and after playing with it for several months I still was unable to solve the cube. Luckily, a girl at that summer program new the solution. Willing to teach me how, I thought that learning how to solve the Rubik's Cube would impress my 'Iolani students. I believed everyone would think I was smart. However, two other students knew how to do the Rubik's Cube as well, so I felt less special. Yet I am not here to teach you how to do the Rubik's Cube. Rather, I want to discuss the physics of the Rubik's Cube.
When I say physics, I mean the colors. The Rubik's Cube consists of six colors: white, yellow, red, orange, green, and blue. White and yellow opposite of one another. Likewise, red and orange are opposite of each other, while green and blue are as well. After learning about colors in physics class, I am disappointed in the person who choose the colors for the Rubik's cube. As a physics student, I would have chosen red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, and magenta. Red, green, and blue are the primary colors, while the secondary colors are magenta, yellow, and cyan. Different combinations of the primary colors create the secondary colors. Here are the equations:
R+G=Yellow
R+B=Magenta
G+B=Cyan
R+G+B=White
Not only do different combinations of the primary colors create the secondary colors, but different intensities of the primary colors create colors besides those secondary ones. For example, the orange color on the Rubik's cube would consist of bright intensity of red and dim intensity of green.
Another reason why I dislike the color arrangement of the Rubik's cube, is the opposing colors. I would have the colors paired like so:
Yellow & Blue
Magenta & Green
Red & Cyan
These pairs of colors are called complementary pairs. These pairs of colors will create white light. From the R+G+B=White equation, I can prove that. Yellow consists of R+G. By adding blue, it completes the equation creating the white light.
Although a minor detail, I dislike that the center white cube has a Rubik's Cube showing only the colors red, blue, and yellow. I would prefer having it show the primary colors instead.
Learning how to do the Rubik's cube was a lesson I will never forget (I can still do it after all these years!). Similarly, the physics about colors will always remain in my memory.
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| My Rubik's Cube in a cool patten to show all the colors |
