Clock

Clock
2bo$obo$bobo$bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART ]] #C [[ LOOP 2 GPS 2 THUMBSIZE 2 ]]
View animated image
View static image
Pattern type	Oscillator
Oscillator type	Muttering moat
Family	Clock
Number of cells	6
Bounding box	4 × 4
Period	2 (mod: 1)
Heat	8
Volatility	0.80 | 0.80
Kinetic symmetry	Unspecified
Rotor type	Clock
Discovered by	Simon Norton
Year of discovery	1970
Rules Outer-totalistic rules B3/S3 – B35678/S02345678 # of rules 211 = 2048
Glider synthesis Fewest gliders 4 Catagolue-generated RLE synthesis Uploaded synthesis RLE clock_synth.rle
Pattern files Plaintext clock.cells RLE clock.rle
Identifiers apgcode xp2_2a54 Pentadecathlon ID 6P2.3

Clock was found by Simon Norton in May 1970. It serves as the logo pattern for WinLifeSearch.

Extensions of the oscillator can be seen as stabilisations for the zebra stripes/chicken wire agar.

Commonness

Clock is the fifth or sixth most common oscillator in Achim Flammenkamp's census, being about as frequent as the pentadecathlon, but much less frequent than the blinker, toad, beacon or pulsar. It is surprisingly rare considering its small size. It is also the sixty-second most common object on Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue.

In other rules

In outer-totalistic rules, clock can follow at least three different p2 cycles depending on the rule.

• In rules such as B4/S1 the inner two cells oscillate similarly to a duoplet in Seeds.
• In rules such as B3/S3, the outer cells oscillate (this being the sequence seen in Life).
• In rules such as B34/S, it evolves into an inverted version of itself and is therefore a phoenix.

Further sequences are possible in non-totalistic rules; for instance, in B3-nq/S12-k3-y, clock cycles with one phase of toad. This gives at least four different p2 sequences:

Evolution of th clock across different rules

			File:Xp2 2a54 b3-nqs12-k3-y.gif
B3/S3 to B35678/S02345678	B34/S to B345678/S0245678	B4/S1 to B45678/S01245678	B3-nq/S12-k3-y to ?

See also

• Bi-clock
• Clock 2
• Cha cha

External links

• Clock at the Life Lexicon

• Clock at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue