Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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A simple dice - or die if you prefer. Six sides, each containing one of the numbers from 1 to 6. And opposite sides must add up to 7. So the 6 is opposite the 1, the 5 opposite the 2 and the 4 is opposite the 3. And that is it. Isn't it. Isn't it?
Well no. Not quite. There is one more thing to consider.
Starting with 6 blank sides, there is only one way to add - let us say - the 1 and the 6. And there is only one way to then add the 5 and the 2. If a thousand different people did this, they would all end up with a dice that was the same, albeit with two blank sides.
BUT...
When we add the two last numbers, the 4 and the 3, there are options. Two options in fact.
Let us assume that the 1 is at the top, which means the 6 is at the bottom. Assume that we have put the 2 on the left hand face and the 5 on the right hand face. You now have a choice as to whether you place the 4 on the front face and the 3 on the back face, or whether you do it the other way around, with the 3 on the front face and the 4 on the back.
Does it make a difference? Well, if you are just rolling a couple of dice to see what numbers come up, then no, it shouldn't make any different. But the two versions of the dice are like your hands - identical but mirror images. In organic chemistry, there are molecules that have the exact same formula, but are mirror images of each other. They are called Optical Isomers. Tim shows exactly how they differ in the video.
As Tim says, magicians can make use of dice like these. Maybe you can think of some tricks you could play with a set of non parity dice?
Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at conta.cc/3dplns1
_______________________________________________________________________
A simple dice - or die if you prefer. Six sides, each containing one of the numbers from 1 to 6. And opposite sides must add up to 7. So the 6 is opposite the 1, the 5 opposite the 2 and the 4 is opposite the 3. And that is it. Isn't it. Isn't it?
Well no. Not quite. There is one more thing to consider.
Starting with 6 blank sides, there is only one way to add - let us say - the 1 and the 6. And there is only one way to then add the 5 and the 2. If a thousand different people did this, they would all end up with a dice that was the same, albeit with two blank sides.
BUT...
When we add the two last numbers, the 4 and the 3, there are options. Two options in fact.
Let us assume that the 1 is at the top, which means the 6 is at the bottom. Assume that we have put the 2 on the left hand face and the 5 on the right hand face. You now have a choice as to whether you place the 4 on the front face and the 3 on the back face, or whether you do it the other way around, with the 3 on the front face and the 4 on the back.
Does it make a difference? Well, if you are just rolling a couple of dice to see what numbers come up, then no, it shouldn't make any different. But the two versions of the dice are like your hands - identical but mirror images. In organic chemistry, there are molecules that have the exact same formula, but are mirror images of each other. They are called Optical Isomers. Tim shows exactly how they differ in the video.
As Tim says, magicians can make use of dice like these. Maybe you can think of some tricks you could play with a set of non parity dice?
