Glider-producing switch engine
The glider-producing switch engine (or glider-making switch engine) is a puffer that was found by Charles Corderman in the early 1970s. It consists of a switch engine reacting with blocks to produce various still lifes, several blinkers, and a glider every 384 generations.
Glider-producing switch engine | |||||||||
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Pattern type | Puffer | ||||||||
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Number of cells | 123 | ||||||||
Bounding box | 67×60 | ||||||||
Frequency class | 21.0 | ||||||||
Direction | Diagonal | ||||||||
Period | 384 | ||||||||
Speed | c/12 | ||||||||
Discovered by | Charles Corderman | ||||||||
Year of discovery | 1971 | ||||||||
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Because of its easy construction (see its predecessors below), it has appeared in some superlinear growth patterns including mosquito 3.[1]
Commonness
The glider-producing switch engine is the second most common naturally-occurring pattern that exhibits infinite growth, the most common being the block-laying switch engine. It is also the ninety-first most common object on Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue.[2]
Time bomb
The time bomb (shown below) is a 17-cell pattern that was found by Doug Petrie that evolves into a glider-producing switch engine.[3]
Synthesis
Although clean synthesis of the glider-producing switch engine requires 4 gliders, Michael Simkin found a 3-glider collision in October 2014 which includes the puffer in its ash.[4] This collision has the minimum number of gliders necessary to exhibit infinite growth, and is the only known 3-glider collision to do so.
Image gallery
![]() The debris left behind by the glider-producing switch engine |
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References
- "Mosquito 3". The Life Lexicon. Stephen Silver. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
- Adam P. Goucher. "Statistics". Catagolue. Retrieved on June 24, 2016.
- "Time bomb". The Life Lexicon. Stephen Silver. Retrieved on May 16, 2009.
- Michael Simkin (October 24, 2014). Re: Making switch-engines (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
External links
- Stabilized switch engine at the Life Lexicon
- Single switch engine puffer trains at the Life Objects Catalog
- Glider-producing switch engine at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue (linear growth)