Using pi crawler technology to create slow spaceships

[HartmutHolzwart]

This thread is for the discusion of reusing technology invented for creating the caterpillar to create slow speed spaceships.

The idea is to simply reverse the direction of the pis. Instead of providing a blinker in time at the top of the spaceship, you would feed a blinker and a downstream pi. This pi would then be used to feed a cycle that produces all the further pi crawlers that the in turn are used to produced the gliders that finally produce somewhat slower helices needed to provide a further pi and a blinker in front.

If this concept basically works, there would be some leeway in the speed of the helix and thus in the speed of the overall spaceships.

Does this seem feasible or did I overlook some basic flaw? What technology must be invented to make it real.

Although the design is less flexible than geminoids and several other limitations it may could be a solution for speeds a little higher than thiose reachable with that technology.

Comments welcome.

[Freywa]

Your idea may be novel. There is one major kink though: how do you destroy the pis once they reach the back of the spaceship? I'm guessing that it would be hard due to the nature of the pi (billowing). I don't think there are pi-glider collisions that result in nothing (although protein structure prediction would help a bit). Tell me if you can find a counterexample.

Then again, I propose a new name for the caterpillar (because it sounds bad): Alcubierre, after the Mexican physicist who invented the Alcubierre drive, something that expands (creates) at the back what it contracts (destroys) at the front. Wikipedia page about the drive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive

[Tropylium]

Your idea may be novel. There is one major kink though: how do you destroy the pis once they reach the back of the spaceship? I'm guessing that it would be hard due to the nature of the pi (billowing). I don't think there are pi-glider collisions that result in nothing (although protein structure prediction would help a bit). Tell me if you can find a counterexample.

Here's one. (A bit smokey maybe.)

Code: Select all

x = 10, y = 4, rule = B3/S23
obo$3o4bo$bo5bobo$7b2o!

Doesn't need to be a one-hit kill AFAIC see, tho.

Code: Select all

x = 12, y = 10, rule = B3/S23
10bo$9bo$9b3o4$obo$3o4bo$bo4bo$6b3o!

Also possibly useful — a 180° turning reaction:

Code: Select all

x = 10, y = 5, rule = B3/S23
7bo$7bobo$obo4b2o$3o$bo!

(Would need to test if this can be adapted for any pi+pi annihilation reactions.)

[knightlife]

This 90 degree reflection reaction might be useful:

Code: Select all

x = 67, y = 7, rule = B3/S23
obo$b2o61bobo$bo62b2o$13bobo49bo$13b3o35bobo$14bo36b3o$52bo!

[Extrementhusiast]

Turns a glider 180 degrees:

Code: Select all

x = 8, y = 9, rule = B3/S23
2bo$obo$b2o4$6bo$5b3o$5bobo!

Overall reaction collection:

Code: Select all

x = 269, y = 165, rule = B3/S23
203bo$201bobo$202b2o2$212bo$211b3o$211bobo7$14bo$12bobo$13b2o3$11bo$
10b3o$10bobo66$248bo$246bobo$247b2o6$29bo$27bobo$28b2o2$267bo$266b3o$
266bobo5$35bo$34b3o$34bobo5$167bo$165bobo$166b2o8$173bo$172b3o$172bobo
3$88bo$86bobo$87b2o7$95bo$94b3o$94bobo13$2bo$obo$b2o9$4bo$3b3o$3bobo!

[p46beth]

Overall reaction collection:

Code: Select all

x = 269, y = 165, rule = B3/S23
203bo$201bobo$202b2o2$212bo$211b3o$211bobo7$14bo$12bobo$13b2o3$11bo$
10b3o$10bobo66$248bo$246bobo$247b2o6$29bo$27bobo$28b2o2$267bo$266b3o$
266bobo5$35bo$34b3o$34bobo5$167bo$165bobo$166b2o8$173bo$172b3o$172bobo
3$88bo$86bobo$87b2o7$95bo$94b3o$94bobo13$2bo$obo$b2o9$4bo$3b3o$3bobo!

These seem to be the potentially useful ones:

Code: Select all

x = 53, y = 101, rule = B3/S23
13$36bo$34bobo$35b2o9$42bo$41b3o$41bobo44$9bo$7bobo$8b2o9$11bo$10b3o$
10bobo!

One of them creates a herschel

[apg]

One of them creates a herschel

Yes, but it creates a LWSS first, which is much rarer.

[Extrementhusiast]

This makes three Herschels:

Code: Select all

x = 14, y = 11, rule = B3/S23
obo$b2o$bo6$12bo$11b3o$11bobo!

And here's one that makes a clean B-heptomino:

Code: Select all

x = 15, y = 12, rule = B3/S23
obo$b2o$bo7$13bo$12b3o$12bobo!

And here's a perfectly clean B-heptomino:

Code: Select all

x = 16, y = 12, rule = B3/S23
obo$b2o$bo7$14bo$13b3o$13bobo!

[Tropylium]

As long as we're tangenting on the subject of pi reactions, there's a large amount that turn the side-clouds cleanly into gliders. There are at least six between two pis in the same phase:

Code: Select all

x = 164, y = 22, rule = B3/S23
9bobo88bobo58bobo$9b3o27bobo28bobo27b3o28bobo27b3o$10bo28b3o28b3o28bo
29b3o28bo$40bo30bo60bo7$2o$2o8$10bo29bo29bo29bo29bo29bo$9b3o27b3o27b3o
27b3o27b3o27b3o$9bobo27bobo27bobo27bobo27bobo27bobo!

And a handful of pi + still life/oscillator variants:

Code: Select all

x = 128, y = 92, rule = life
61bo$60bo$60b3o20$43bo$43bo$43bo2$39b3o3b3o2$3bo39bo$3bo39bo$3bo39bo9$
bo39bo$3o37b3o$obo37bobo27$121bo$120bobo$120bobo$121bo2$116b2o7b2o$
115bo2bo5bo2bo$116b2o7b2o2$b2o78bo39bo$o2bo37bo38bobo37bobo$obo37bobo
37bobo37bobo$bo39bo39bo39bo9$bo39bo39bo39bo$3o37b3o37b3o37b3o$obo37bob
o37bobo37bobo!

Note the clean B from traffic lights, which moreover gets cleanly killed by the left-side glider after laying one block; more²over, as shown, a glider hitting the block can create a new pi at the exact same axis. Seems too convenient to not be usable somehow…

Anyway, is there a glider+pi reaction leading to this result? There may be, I've not finished combing the relevant search space area yet.