Banana spark

Banana spark
x = 11, y = 15, rule = B3/S23 2bo$obo$b2o$4b2o$6bo6$4b2o$6bo$8b2o$8bobo$8bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART ZOOM 16 HEIGHT 480 GPS 1 PAUSE 2 T 4 PAUSE 2 LOOP 5 ]]
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Pattern type	Spark
Number of cells	3
Bounding box	3 × 2
Static symmetry	C1
Discovered by	Unknown
Year of discovery	1970
Rules Outer-totalistic rules B3/S23 – B3678/S23678 # of rules 26 = 64 Isotropic rules B3-ceky/S2-in3ajnqr – B2in34-jkr5-jn678/S234-kr5-j678
Glider synthesis Fewest gliders 2 Uploaded synthesis RLE bananaspark_synth.rle
Pattern files Plaintext bananaspark.cells RLE bananaspark.rle

A banana spark is a common 3-cell polyplet spark used in glider synthesis and signal circuitry. The buckaroo and Rich's p16 both produce this spark, and the p45 pi-heptomino hassler produces a variation of this spark with a nearby domino. It can be used to turn a glider 90 degrees, as shown in the infobox pattern.

In other rules

In Just Friends (B2-a/S12), the banana spark evolves into a period-6 c/6 diagonal spaceship, which completes the proof that the smallest minimum population of a spaceship in an isotropic 2D rule is 3 cells (all two-cell patterns have rotational symmetry of some form and therefore can't be spaceships).

x = 3, y = 2, rule = B2-a/S12 o$bo$bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART GPS 4 THUMBSIZE 2 TRACK 1/6 -1/6 ]]

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Similarly, in many rules containing B2-a/S1, it is a c/4 diagonal spaceship.

x = 3, y = 2, rule = B2-a/S12-k o$bo$bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART GPS 4 THUMBSIZE 2 TRACK 1/4 -1/4 ]]

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In Logic Rule (B2ae/S), the banana spark evolves into a period-2 photon.

x = 3, y = 2, rule = B2ae/S o$bo$bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART GPS 2 THUMBSIZE 2 TRACK 1 0 ]]

(click above to open LifeViewer)

External links

• Banana spark at the Life Lexicon
• Banana (rule b2-as12) at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue
• Banana (rule b2aes) at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue