Disentanglement puzzle
Encyclopedia
A disentanglement puzzle is a type of mechanical puzzle
that involves disentangling one piece or set of pieces from another piece or set of pieces. The reverse problem of reassembling the puzzle can be as hard as—or even harder than—disentanglement. There are several different kinds of disentanglement puzzles, though a single puzzle may incorporate several of these features.
The plate as well as the ring are usually made from metal
. The ring has to be disentangled from the plate.
which may have a big handle to hold the puzzle.
The movable pieces have to be arranged just right to let a first piece be separated from the rest of the assembly.
In this respect rattler puzzles are closely related to the lock puzzle
s and puzzle locks.
Wire puzzleMechanical puzzle
A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces.- History :The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC....
that involves disentangling one piece or set of pieces from another piece or set of pieces. The reverse problem of reassembling the puzzle can be as hard as—or even harder than—disentanglement. There are several different kinds of disentanglement puzzles, though a single puzzle may incorporate several of these features.
Plate-and-ring puzzles
A plate-and-ring puzzle usually consists of three pieces:- one plate or similar displaying many holes and/or indentationIndentationAn indentation may refer to:* A notch, or deep recesses; for instance in a coastline, or a carving in rock* The placement of text farther to the right to separate it from surrounding text....
s - a closed or nearly closed ring or a similar item.
The plate as well as the ring are usually made from metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
. The ring has to be disentangled from the plate.
Rattler puzzles
Rattler puzzles consist of many smaller pieces assembled on a main piecewhich may have a big handle to hold the puzzle.
The movable pieces have to be arranged just right to let a first piece be separated from the rest of the assembly.
In this respect rattler puzzles are closely related to the lock puzzle
Lock puzzle
A lock puzzle is a type of mechanical puzzle. It consists of a lock with unusual or hidden mechanics. Such locks are sometimes called trick locks, because opening them is like performing a magic trick. A matching key may or may not be used in this trick....
s and puzzle locks.
Wire puzzles
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s consist of two or more entangled pieces of more or less stiff wire
Wire
A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
.
The pieces may or may not be closed loops. The closed pieces might be simple rings or have more complex shapes. Normally the puzzle must be solved by disentangling the two pieces without bending or cutting the wires.
Early wire puzzles were made from horseshoe
Horseshoe
A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...
s and similar material.
Wire-and-string puzzles
Wire-and-string puzzlePuzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s usually consist of:
- one piece of string, ribbon or similar, which may form a closed loop or which may have other pieces like balls fixed to its end.
- one or several pieces of stiff wire
- sometimes additional pieces like wooden ball through which the string is threaded.
One can distinguish three subgroups of wire-and-string puzzles:
- Closed string subgroup: Here the pieces of string consist of one closed loop. Usually the string has to be disentangled from the wire.
- Unclosed loose string subgroup: Here the pieces of string are not closed, and are not attached to the wire. In this case the ends of the string are fitted with a ball, cube or similar which stops the string from slipping out too easily. Usually the string has to be disentangled from the wire. Sometimes other tasks have to be completed instead, such as shifting a ring or ball from one end of the string to another end.
- Unclosed fixed string subgroup: Here the pieces of string are not closed, but are somewhere on its length attached to the wire. Obviously in these puzzles the task is not to disentangle the string from the wire. One possible task may be to shift a ring or ball from one end of the string to another end.