MathDB
throwing an octahedron 10 times, 1 side painted red and 7 painted blue

Source: Dutch NMO 1997 p4

January 29, 2020
octahedronColoringcombinatoricscombinatorial geometry

Problem Statement

We look at an octahedron, a regular octahedron, having painted one of the side surfaces red and the other seven surfaces blue. We throw the octahedron like a die. The surface that comes up is painted: if it is red it is painted blue and if it is blue it is painted red. Then we throw the octahedron again and paint it again according to the above rule. In total we throw the octahedron 1010 times. How many different octahedra can we get after finishing the 1010th time?
Two octahedra are different if they cannot be converted into each other by rotation.