Regulator: Difference between revisions
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A '''universal regulator''' is a regulator in which the incoming gliders are aligned to period 1, that is, they have arbitrary timing (subject to some minimum time required for the regulator to recover from the previous glider). | A '''universal regulator''' is a regulator in which the incoming gliders are aligned to period 1, that is, they have arbitrary timing (subject to some minimum time required for the regulator to recover from the previous glider). | ||
[[Paul Chapman]] constructed the first universal regulator in March [[:Category:Patterns found in 2003|2003]]. It is adjustable, so that the output can be aligned to any desired period. | [[Paul Chapman]] constructed the first universal regulator in March [[:Category:Patterns found in 2003|2003]]. It is adjustable, so that the output can be aligned to any desired period. A [[stable]] universal regulator was constructed by [[Dave Greene]] in September 2015, with a minimum delay between test signals of 1177 ticks. Later stable versions have reduced the delay to 952 ticks. | ||
A universal regulator can allow two complex [[circuit]]s to interact safely, even if they have different base [[period]]s. For example, signals from a stable logic circuit (where output [[signal]]s might be produced at any time) could be processed by a period-30 mechanism, though the precise timing of those signals would change in most cases. | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{LinkLexicon|lex_r.htm#regulator}} | {{LinkLexicon|lex_r.htm#regulator}} | ||
{{LinkForumThread|f=2|t=1825|title=Stable universal regulator}} | {{LinkForumThread|f=2|t=1825|title=Stable universal regulator}} | ||
Revision as of 16:27, 23 February 2018
A regulator is an object that converts input gliders aligned to some period to output gliders aligned to a different period. The most interesting case is a universal regulator.
Universal regulator
A universal regulator is a regulator in which the incoming gliders are aligned to period 1, that is, they have arbitrary timing (subject to some minimum time required for the regulator to recover from the previous glider).
Paul Chapman constructed the first universal regulator in March 2003. It is adjustable, so that the output can be aligned to any desired period. A stable universal regulator was constructed by Dave Greene in September 2015, with a minimum delay between test signals of 1177 ticks. Later stable versions have reduced the delay to 952 ticks.
A universal regulator can allow two complex circuits to interact safely, even if they have different base periods. For example, signals from a stable logic circuit (where output signals might be produced at any time) could be processed by a period-30 mechanism, though the precise timing of those signals would change in most cases.
External links
- Regulator at the Life Lexicon
- Stable universal regulator (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums