Simple magic cube
title: "Simple magic cube" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["magic-squares"] topic_path: "general/magic-squares" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_magic_cube" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Simple_magic_cube.svg" caption="An example of a 3 × 3 × 3 simple magic cube."] ::
A simple magic cube is the lowest of six basic classes of magic cubes. These classes are based on extra features required.
The simple magic cube requires only the basic features a cube requires to be magic. Namely, all lines parallel to the faces, and all 4 space diagonals sum correctly. i.e. all "1-agonals" and all "3-agonals" sum to
:S = \frac{m(m^3+1)}{2}.
No planar diagonals (2-agonals) are required to sum correctly, so there are probably no magic squares in the cube.
References
References
- Pickover, Clifford A.. (2002). "The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions". Princeton University Press.
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