Tutorials/Finding conduits - Revision history

WhiteHawk: /* References */

2025-04-27T10:18:08Z

References

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:18, 27 April 2025
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	\|date = December 9, 2020		\|date = December 9, 2020
	}}</ref>		}}</ref>
	</references		</references>

	{{Tutorial}}		{{Tutorial}}

WhiteHawk at 10:17, 27 April 2025

2025-04-27T10:17:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:17, 27 April 2025
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	So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.		So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

	However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, almost any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so almost all glider-accepting conduits (one exception is [[G-to-pi catalyst (August 2023)\|a "baitless" glider-to-pi catalyst]]) have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref~~>{{LinkForumThread \| format~~ = ~~ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}<~~/~~ref~~> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).		However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, almost any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so almost all glider-accepting conduits (one exception is [[G-to-pi catalyst (August 2023)\|a "baitless" glider-to-pi catalyst]]) have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref name="post115054"/> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).

	XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.		XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.
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	=References=		=References=
	<references />		<references>
			<ref name="post115054">{{LinkForumThread
			\|format = ref
			\|title = Re: History Of ConwayLife
			\|p = 115054
			\|author = Dave Greene
			\|date = December 9, 2020
			}}</ref>
			</references

	{{Tutorial}}		{{Tutorial}}

Confocal: conduit → catalyst (I'm not aware of any possible connections to turn the pi into e.g. another glider or Herschel)

2023-12-10T09:58:05Z

conduit → catalyst (I'm not aware of any possible connections to turn the pi into e.g. another glider or Herschel)

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:58, 10 December 2023
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	So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.		So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

	However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, almost any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so almost all glider-accepting conduits (~~Except for the~~ [[G-to-pi catalyst (August 2023)\|G-pi ~~conduit~~]]) have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).		However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, almost any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so almost all glider-accepting conduits (one exception is [[G-to-pi catalyst (August 2023)\|a "baitless" glider-to-pi catalyst]]) have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).

	XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.		XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.

Haycat2009: /* Ground rules */

2023-12-10T05:24:29Z

Ground rules

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:24, 10 December 2023
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	So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.		So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

	However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).		However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, almost any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so almost all glider-accepting conduits (Except for the [[G-to-pi catalyst (August 2023)\|G-pi conduit]]) have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).

	XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.		XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.

Spaceship: /* Ground rules */

2023-12-04T13:17:57Z

Ground rules

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:17, 4 December 2023
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	* Always try to move the active region to somewhere new.		* Always try to move the active region to somewhere new.
	* Clearance matters.		* Clearance matters.
	Here is a pi-to-LWSS conduit that demonstrates all four of these rules.		Here is a H-to-LWSS conduit that demonstrates all four of these rules.
	The basic reaction is the following:		The basic reaction is the following:
	<center>{{LV:Viewer\|x = 24, y = 25, rule = LifeHistory		<center>{{LV:Viewer\|x = 24, y = 25, rule = LifeHistory

C28: /* A good way of asking for help */

2023-08-15T22:10:00Z

A good way of asking for help

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:10, 15 August 2023
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	7.D$6.3D$8.2D17$2A$.A$.A.A$2.2A2$20.2A$19.A.A$20.A9$14.C$13.3C$12.2C2$		7.D$6.3D$8.2D17$2A$.A$.A.A$2.2A2$20.2A$19.A.A$20.A9$14.C$13.3C$12.2C2$
	25.2A$25.2A$25.2A$25.A$12.2A10.A.A$12.2A11.A.A.3A$26.A.4A$27.A!}}		25.2A$25.2A$25.2A$25.A$12.2A10.A.A$12.2A11.A.A.3A$26.A.4A$27.A!}}
	If that one thing can be fixed, then this will yield a C→C with better output clearance than anything that we currently have. (The unix is only necessary for cleaning up a block and works at any timing, and the century's first cousin 3bo$3bo$o2bo$b2o can get in and is made by multiple conduits, such as CBx37C and PF*39C.)		If that one thing can be fixed, then this will yield a C→C with better output clearance than anything that we currently have. (The unix is only necessary for cleaning up a block and works at any timing, and the century's first cousin 3bo$3bo$o2bo$b2o can get in and is made by multiple conduits, such as [[CBx37C]] and PF*39C.)

	Also, as a bonus, a permanent catalyst that works would almost certainly yield an I→R+W signal splitter.		Also, as a bonus, a permanent catalyst that works would almost certainly yield an I→R+W signal splitter.

Confocal: reword, acknowledge contributions from multiple editors, restore some removed parts as a separate subsection

2023-04-23T07:49:25Z

reword, acknowledge contributions from multiple editors, restore some removed parts as a separate subsection

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:49, 23 April 2023
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	==Ground rules==		==Ground rules==
	There are several basic rules for making and using conduits ~~to minimize the repeat time and maximize the usefulness of your conduits, and make the conduit-finding process more efficient~~. The most important are the following:		There are several basic rules for making and using conduits. The most important are the following:
	* ~~Use~~ search programs to find reactions.		* If you want just the end result (a working useful conduit), learn to use search programs to find reactions efficiently. (Manual exploration may still be worthwhile for understanding possibilities.)

			* Conduits with lower repeat time are generally more useful.
	* Don't rely on transparent or sacrificial objects unless there is an active region surrounding the transparent object after its destruction.		* Don't rely on transparent or sacrificial objects unless there is an active region surrounding the transparent object after its destruction.
	* Up-conversion is more difficult than down-conversion.		* Up-conversion is more difficult than down-conversion.
	* Always ~~see if~~ the active region to somewhere new.		* Always try to move the active region to somewhere new.
	* Clearance matters.		* Clearance matters.
	Here is a pi-to-LWSS conduit that demonstrates all four of these rules.		Here is a pi-to-LWSS conduit that demonstrates all four of these rules.
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	==A recommended process==		==A recommended process==
	Here is a summary of my typical conduit-finding process:
			Here is a summary of a typical conduit-finding process:
	* Use a search program like [[CatForce]] to find partial or complete conduits.		* Use a search program like [[CatForce]] to find partial or complete conduits.

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	Also, when placing catalysts, always make sure that your conduit has feasible input clearance.		Also, when placing catalysts, always make sure that your conduit has feasible input clearance.

			===Manual exploration===

			The following outline of a conduit-finding process may be useful if you want to explore possible catalyses manually:

			* Place a catalyst where it might work.
			* Run the pattern and see whether the catalyst is successful or gets destroyed.
			* If the catalyst gets destroyed, observe exactly how it fails and try a replacement catalyst.
			* If no catalysts are destroyed, the activity moves to a new region, and no annoying still-lifes or blinkers are left behind, try to keep that catalyst and repeat the process (waiting until the active region has good enough clearance before placing any more catalysts) until all of the activity is well-defined, accessible active regions (including gliders and XWSSes). Otherwise, remove that catalyst and try another catalyst placement.
			* Before placing any catalysts, try to run the pattern without stopping to get a sense of when to start trying catalysts for maximum clearance and whether or not there are any well-defined regions that you could try extracting. Also, if you want the active region to turn in a particular direction, you will often try only catalyzing it from the side that you want it to turn away from.

	==Asking for help==		==Asking for help==

Carson Cheng at 08:28, 3 September 2022

2022-09-03T08:28:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:28, 3 September 2022
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	2o$2o15$13b2o$10b2ob2o$10b2o2$12b2o$12b2o!}}		2o$2o15$13b2o$10b2ob2o$10b2o2$12b2o$12b2o!}}
	Can the block be restored?</center>		Can the block be restored?</center>
	* By asking whether the block can be '''restored''', the poster implies that this conduit relies either on a transparent reaction, which is ~~extremely~~ unlikely to ~~exist~~, or an independent restoration of the block, which will lead to a bulky conduit with an impractically long repeat time. Neither is promising.		* By asking whether the block can be '''restored''', the poster implies that this conduit relies either on a transparent reaction, which is unlikely to be easily searchable, or an independent restoration of the block, which will lead to a bulky conduit with an impractically long repeat time. Neither is promising.
	* While any reader could probably figure that the output object is a century based on its ash, the input region for this conduit is not obvious. There are three blocks with the characteristic spacing of a century, but this does not indicate whether the input region is a century or a century simply happened to form in the ash. If the latter is true, then for all the reader knows, the only input that this conduit can accept is an arrangement of three blocks that would be extremely unlikely to form from a reaction because the first two blocks would start reacting with each other before the third block could be placed. Either way, the reaction leaves four blocks that would interfere with any attempt to use the conduit again, and there is no indication that they can be cleaned up.		* While any reader could probably figure that the output object is a century based on its ash, the input region for this conduit is not obvious. There are three blocks with the characteristic spacing of a century, but this does not indicate whether the input region is a century or a century simply happened to form in the ash. If the latter is true, then for all the reader knows, the only input that this conduit can accept is an arrangement of three blocks that would be extremely unlikely to form from a reaction because the first two blocks would start reacting with each other before the third block could be placed. Either way, the reaction leaves four blocks that would interfere with any attempt to use the conduit again, and there is no indication that they can be cleaned up.
	* As mentioned in the previous bullet point, there is no indication that the partial conduit (if it can even be called that) accepts a well-defined region for which conduits creating it are already known. The poster has provided no indication that the reaction would be useful as a conduit in any way; thus, any reader would be likely to classify it as a novelty reaction—and not one worth completing.		* As mentioned in the previous bullet point, there is no indication that the partial conduit (if it can even be called that) accepts a well-defined region for which conduits creating it are already known. The poster has provided no indication that the reaction would be useful as a conduit in any way; thus, any reader would be likely to classify it as a novelty reaction—and not one worth completing.

Carson Cheng at 08:21, 3 September 2022

2022-09-03T08:21:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:21, 3 September 2022
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	So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.		So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

	However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as ~~most of the time~~, no arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).		However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as sometimes, no easily-searchable arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).

	XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.		XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.

Carson Cheng at 08:06, 3 September 2022

2022-09-03T08:06:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:06, 3 September 2022
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	So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.		So why use that reaction for creating LWSSes instead of a better one? The answer is: There are currently no known better reactions. LWSSes are relatively rare compared to R-pentominoes and other common active objects, so not many reactions are known that create LWSSes from active objects commonly used in conduits. Of the few such reactions known, none result in a better conduit in terms of repeat time. For example, [https://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1599&start=1050#p106925 this Herschel-to-LWSS conduit] is even worse in terms of moving the active object to a new location and therefore has an even higher repeat time. Because LWSSes (and the other XWSSes as well) are so rare, they are more difficult to create, so converters that create them from easier-to-create objects are known as upconverters.

	However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as most of the time, no arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so ~~difficult/~~unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent ~~object—unless~~ the ~~result would be amazing, very useful, novel, and thus worth it~~ (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).		However, while XWSSes are harder to make, they (as well as gliders) are also harder to extract signals from. The reason for this is because gliders and XWSSes are small and only move forwards, not outwards. For this reason, any method of perturbing gliders causes all of their cells to die,{{refn\|group=note\|This only applies to stable conduits. Using sparkers makes perturbing gliders and XWSSes much easier, but because these do not work at all timings, they are not preferred.}} so all glider-accepting conduits have the glider crash into an object to produce chaos. This object must be restored in order for the conduit to be able to be used again, and any arrangement of catalysts is extremely unlikely to put the same object in that exact location with the same orientation, especially with no other junk. For example, in his effort to find [[Boojum reflector\|what turned out to be a record smallest and fastest glider-to-glider conduit]], Dave Greene spent multiple weeks trying thousands of arrangements of catalysts to restore a single transparent block (The conduit uses two transparent blocks, but one of the transparent reactions was already known.) before finding one that worked, and this was in fact lucky, as most of the time, no arrangement of catalysts will work.<ref>{{LinkForumThread \| format = ref \| title = Re: History Of ConwayLife \| p = 115054 \| author = dvgrn \| date = December 9, 2020 }}</ref> Because restoring transparent objects is so unlikely, it is a bad idea to attempt to restore a transparent object without the help of search programs (and even then, one must be prepared for disappointment).

	XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.		XWSSes are little better. When perturbed, the LWSS might coalesce into a block or blinker instead of completely vanishing, so any conduit accepting it requires a transparent object. The MWSS might turn into an object requiring slightly more cells, such as a loaf or a glider, but turning the glider into another signal still requires a transparent reaction. The HWSS is the only XWSS with any hope of not stabilizing within ten generations of being perturbed, but because it does not have a sideways movement/expansion mechanism, it must be perturbed from the front, so with its forwards movement mechanism destroyed, and no sideways movement mechanism, the resulting junk cannot move to a new location but instead tends to stay in the same place, possibly destroying one or more of the catalysts used to perturb it. Not wanting the chaos to destroy catalysts that one has already used is another reason why one should try to make sure that the chaos is always moving to a new location.
	In terms of how easy it is to convert the signal into something else, here is a ranking of potential outputs from most difficult to easiest. The farther down any output is, the better. Note that objects in the first three categories in the list likely require transparent or sacrificial objects in order to make conduits out of them.		In terms of how easy it is to convert the signal into something else, here is a ranking of potential outputs from most difficult to easiest. The farther down any output is, the better. Note that objects in the first three categories in the list likely require transparent or sacrificial objects in order to make conduits out of them.