Period-88 glider gun
Not to be confused with the period-44 glider gun with a period-doubling mechanism.
| Period-88 glider gun | |||||||||
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| Pattern type | Gun | ||||||||
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| Number of cells | 160 | ||||||||
| Bounding box | 46 × 44 | ||||||||
| Period | 88 | ||||||||
| Barrels | 4 | ||||||||
| Discovered by | Matthias Merzenich | ||||||||
| Year of discovery | 2009 | ||||||||
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The first Period-88 glider gun not based on Herschel conduits or a period-multiplied period-44 glider gun was a true period-88 glider gun discovered by Matthias Merzenich in September 2009, and later improved by Jason Summers by using blockers to stabilize the oscillating portion.[1] The core reaction is four rotationally symmetric wings that interact with each other and are sparked to produce a mirrored image of itself after 44 generations. The figure eights create a glider in addition to stabilizing the period-88 oscillator. It can be made to have more than 1 barrel; for each additional barrel, the bounding box is decreased by two rows or columns, and population is unaffected.
The associated period-88 oscillator, which has eight blockers instead of six blockers and two figure eights, has 156 cells, heat 146.2, and volatility 0.96. The population is lower because advancing by one generation puts the blockers in a less dense phase but the figure eights in a denser phase.
The current smallest period-88 glider gun [2] also has multiple barrels and also involves a wing, though only through interation with a catalyst involving an intermediate Honey farm stage and reproduces the wing with the subsequent leftover block needed to restore the catalyst.
| The smallest period-88 glider gun, found by iNoMed.[2] (click above to open LifeViewer) Catagolue: here |
References
- ↑ Matthias Merzenich (April 24, 2021). Re: Oscillator Discussion Thread (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 iNoMed (August 8, 2024). Re: Gun Discussion Thread (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
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