<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[justpuzzles]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Teun Spaans]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/author/teunspaans/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Soma cube]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>Though this blog mainly concentrates on logical puzzles, this post is about the Soma Cube, invented by Danish scientist Piet Hein in 1933 during a lecture on quantum physics. The name SOMA may be related to the name of an <a href="http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SOMA.html">array</a>.</p>
<p>It is a solid dissection puzzle, where a 3x3x3 cube is divided into 7 pieces:<br />
<a href="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2007" data-permalink="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/soma-cube/somacube-pieces/" data-orig-file="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg" data-orig-size="580,257" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="Somacube pieces" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg?w=580" src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg?w=150&#038;h=66" alt="Somacube pieces" width="150" height="66" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2007" srcset="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg?w=150&amp;h=66 150w, https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg?w=298&amp;h=132 298w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></a><br />
You can easily create your own set with a saw and some wood glue.</p>
<p>The Soma cube has been discussed in detail by Martin Gardner and John Horton Conway, and the book <i>Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays</i> contains a detailed analysis of the Soma cube problem. There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cube puzzle, excluding rotations and reflections.</p>
<p>Piet Hein also published or authorized a booklet with puzzles. I found a copy <a href="http://www.suffolkmaths.co.uk/pages/Investigations/Shape/Soma%20Cube.doc">here</a>. However, I found 2 figures with a number of blocks less than 27, so I have discarded them and added two of the problems listed below in <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=2024">this file</a>.</p>
<p>Here are some problems I did not find elsewhere on the web:<br />
1)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c01.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c01" /><br />
2)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c02.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c02" /><br />
3)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c03.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c03" /><br />
4)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c04.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c04" /><br />
5)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c05.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c05" /><br />
6)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c06.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c06" /> (Thanks go to fellow consultant Harrie Jans for this one!)<br />
7)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c07.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c07" /><br />
8)<br />
<img src="https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/soma-cube-exercise-c08.jpg" alt="soma cube figure c08" /></p>
<p>Many people noticed that the pieces used are not all tetracubes, and the tricube is a strange duck in the pond. In response several people have suggested something dubbed Soma+, but that is a subject for a different post in this blog.</p>
<p>There is an awful lot of literature on the web. Here are some links:<br />
* Thorleif Bundgaard collected a <a href="http://www.fam-bundgaard.dk/SOMA/SOMA.HTM">very nice and very extensive collection of figures which can be made with the soma cube pieces.</a><br />
* <a href="http://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~sillke/POLYCUBE/SOMA/cube-secrets">Chapter 24: Pursuing Puzzles Purposefully from the book &#8220;Winning Ways II &#8220;</a><br />
* <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_cube">Article on english wikipedia on soma cube</a><br />
* <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrominoes">Article on englsih wikipedia on tetrominoes</a><br />
* <a href="http://web.inter.nl.net/users/C.Eggermont/Puzzels/Soma/">List of figures</a><br />
* <a href="http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/somacube.htm">All 240 solutions to the cube</a><br />
* <a href="http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/somacube.htm"> Instructions for making a soma cube</a></p>
<p>If you solved it, we have the solution to <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#1">nr 1</a>, <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#11">nr 2</a>, <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#22">nr 3</a>, <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#33">nr 4</a>, <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#41">nr 5</a>, <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#51">nr 6</a>, <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#62">nr 7</a>, and <a href="https://justpuzzles.wordpress.com/solutions-physical-puzzles//#74">nr 8</a> </p>
]]></html><thumbnail_url><![CDATA[https://justpuzzles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somacube-pieces.jpg?w=150&fit=440%2C330]]></thumbnail_url><thumbnail_width><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_width><thumbnail_height><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_height></oembed>