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Perfect Cuboid

Precise statement

Does there exist a rectangular box with positive integer edge lengths a,b,c such that all three face diagonals and the space diagonal are integers?

a^2+b^2, a^2+c^2, b^2+c^2, a^2+b^2+c^2

must all be perfect squares.

Why it matters

The problem is a concrete meeting point of Pythagorean triples, rational points on algebraic varieties, and computational Diophantine search.

What is known

Boxes with integer edges and two integer face diagonals exist. No perfect cuboid is known, and no proof of nonexistence is known.

Main difficulty

The four square conditions are strongly coupled. Parameterising one or two Pythagorean relations generally makes the remaining conditions harder.

Study path

Parameterise primitive Pythagorean triples, construct an Euler brick, then write the remaining space-diagonal requirement as a rational-point problem.

Algebraic geometry viewpoint

After scaling by one edge, the problem becomes one about rational points on an intersection of quadrics. This explains why elementary parametrisations make progress but tend to create new square conditions rather than remove them.

Verification checklist

For every claimed cuboid, check all four squares independently and verify that all lengths are positive integers. A rational cuboid is not automatically an integer one; clearing denominators changes the scale but must preserve every diagonal condition.

Further reading

Study Pythagorean triples, Euler bricks, rational points on conics, and the relation between simultaneous square conditions and elliptic curves.