31c/240 orthogonal
| 31c/240 orthogonal | ||
| ||
| Spaceship | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Puffer | Yes | |
| Rake | Yes | |
| Wickstretcher | No | |
| Gun | Yes | |
31c/240 orthogonal is an orthogonal speed equal to thirty one two-hundred-fortieths of the speed of light.
In April 2013, Dave Greene discovered 31c/240 Herschel-pair climber, a glider-emitting reburnable fuse based on pairs of Herschels traveling along chains of blocks.[1] In January 2014, Kiho Park suggested a workable mechanism, allowing Herschel pairs to climb block chains while suppressing all output gliders.[2] In total, six block trails or three Herschel pairs are needed to make a climber that doesn't emit any excess gliders and doesn't leave any extra blocks behind. Each passing Herschel shifts its block chain forward by 9 ticks, which is relatively prime to 31, so it is possible to shift the block chains by any desired distance. Thus a rake unit can be adjusted to output gliders on any desired lane. Arbitrary slow salvo recipes can be fired from the rakes, enabling a 31c/240 spaceship to construct its own support by sending heavyweight spaceships forward to collide with gliders at the front end, and support the frontmost Herschel pairs of the ship. The first spaceship built using this technology in September 2014 was the shield bug, soon followed by the smaller centipede. In April 2016, Michael Simkin constructed a smaller 31c/240 orthogonal spaceship using caterloopillar technology,[3] which was the smallest 31c/240 spaceship until May 9, 2020, when the silverfish, a self-supporting 31c/240 caterpillar-type spaceship, was completed.[4] It uses the slow salvo recipe from the shield bug but a vastly improved mechanism. On December 27, 2024, the 75961-cell leaf bug was constructed, abandoning the "using slow salvo construction to make two heavyweight spaceships and then turn them into a sideways MWSS" formula.[5] It was then surpassed on January 31st of the following year by the 62887-cell ship Mannaz,[6][note 1] and reduced to the 49648-cell Water strider.[7] In June, 2025, leaf bug 2 was created, with its latest iteration having a population of only 24460 cells.
31c/240 had been the slowest speed achieved by orthogonal spaceships until March 5, 2016, when copperhead was discovered.
See also
- Speeds (category)
- Spaceships with speed 31c/240 (category)
- Crawlers with speed 31c/240 (category)
Notes
- ↑ This 31c/240 ship is the only one currently not named after some type of terrestrial mandibulate arthropod. It also was the first macro-ship outright to fit in a LifeViewer window, albeit with size commands.
References
- ↑ Dave Greene (April 19, 2013). Re: Blockic splitters (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Kiho Park (January 8, 2014). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Michael Simkin (April 17, 2016). Re: Caterloopillar WIP (all speeds < c/4) (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Adam P. Goucher (May 9, 2020). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Gustone (December 28, 2024). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ FWKnightship (January 31, 2025). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ FWKnightship (February 1, 2025). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
External links
- 31c/240 at the Life Lexicon