Envelope
The envelope of a pattern includes any cell touched during the evolution of that pattern. For an oscillator, it is equivalent to the totality of cells making up that oscillator, i.e. the union of its rotor and stator.
The envelope corresponds to the state-2 blue cells in LifeHistory.
Construction envelope
The construction envelope is the region affected by an active reaction, such as a glider synthesis of an object.
Reaction envelope
The reaction envelope is the collection of cells that are alive during some part of a given active reaction. This term is used for Herschel circuits and other stable circuitry, whereas construction envelope is specific to recipes in self-constructing circuitry.
Also see
External links
- Reaction envelope at the Life Lexicon