A 14-year-old boy has solved a Rubik\u2019s cube in under five seconds, beating the previous world record time by 0.35 seconds.<\/p>\n
Lucas Etter was taking part in the River Hill Fall competition in Clarksville, Maryland, on Saturday when he managed to unmix the 3×3 cube in just 4.9 seconds.<\/p>\n
Video of his feat shows an unruffled Lucas working out his strategy before completing the cube and leaping to his feet as the clock halted at 4.904 seconds.<\/p>\n
The World Cube Association confirmed that Lucas had beaten the previous best, but told Time magazine it was in the process of verifying it as an official world record.<\/p>\n
The previous fastest time was held by another teenager, Collin Burns, whose grip on the record lasted just seven months \u2013 an age in speedcube terms \u2013 after his 5.25-second victory in the Doylestown spring competition in April.<\/p>\n
Astonishingly, that world record time had already been beaten in the River Hall Fall competition on the same day, Fivethirtyeight reported, when Keaton Ellis managed 5.09 seconds.<\/p>\n
But Lucas\u2019 subsequent improvement means that time will not feature in the record books.<\/p>\n
Speedcubers get 15 seconds to inspect the cube before attempting to solve it. The Rubik\u2019s speedcubing website suggests various techniques for getting your cube-twisting up to speed, including finger tricks, lubrication and tightening or loosening the internal springs.<\/p>\n
The timing is controlled by a StackMat timer, activated when the cuber lifts his or her hands off the touchpad, then down again once the cube is completed.<\/p>\n
The World Cube Association confirms Lucas was already a world-record holder in the 2×2 cube average competition (an average of five attempts), but it is the 3×3 Rubik\u2019s cube that remains the ultimate prize.<\/p>\n
The world Rubik\u2019s cube championship has taken place every two years since 2003, and world records \u2013 first set at 22.95 seconds by 16-year-old Minh Thai in 1982 – have been nimbly demolished ever since.<\/p>\n