# Rubik cube torque experiment - Correct equations and experiment set up?

## Background

I am attempting to experimentally find out the average torque required to rotate a single face of a Rubik cube. Little to no data is available as it varies from cube to cube. Some people have used a torque wrench but this is not an option currently.

## Experiment Set Up

A picture of the setup can be seen below:

The cube is clamped to the table, string is wrapped around one face of the cube and weight is incrementally added to the bag. The mass is then recorded for the cube to rotate >=90 degrees. I constructed the following moment diagram:

## Equations

Then I used the following equations to convert the mass of the cube to rotational torque.

F1=m * a = Acting Force

m= Recorded Mass ,a=Gravitational Acceleration

Torque=M1= F1 * X * sin⁡(90)

## Question

I did this a set of times to then find the average torque required to rotate the cube face. Are my calculations correct? and is this a viable way to measure the torque of the cube?

$$M_z = F\cdot 19[mm]$$
Now regarding the other size (for $$M_x$$) which you are more interested, you are on the right track, but I suspect you will see a LOT of scatter in the data.