Herschel conduit

A Herschel conduit is a conduit that moves a Herschel from one place to another.

Well over a hundred simple stable Herschel conduits are currently known. As of the end of 2017, the number is approximately 130, depending on the precise definition of "simple" -- e.g., fitting inside a 100×100 bounding box, and producing output in no more than 300 ticks. In general a Herschel conduit can be called "simple" if its active reaction does not return to a Herschel stage except at its output. A description of common usage in complex circuitry, using syringes and Snarks to make compact connections, can be found in Herschel circuit.

A Herschel.

The original universal set consisted of sixteen stable Herschel conduits, discovered between 1995 and 1998 by Dave Buckingham (DJB) and Paul Callahan (PBC); these are shown in the following table. In this table, the number in "name/steps" is the number of ticks needed to produce an output Herschel from the input Herschel. "m" tells how the Herschel is moved (R = turned right, L = turned left, B = turned back, F = unturned, x = flipped), and "dx" and "dy" give the displacement of the center cell of the Herschel (assumed to start in the orientation shown to the right).

Name/steps	m	dx	dy	discovery
R64	R	-11	9	DJB, Sep 1995
Fx77	Fx	-25	-8	DJB, Aug 1996
L112	L	-12	-33	DJB, Jul 1996
F116	F	-32	1	PBC, Feb 1997
F117	F	-40	-6	DJB, Jul 1996
Bx125	Bx	9	-17	PBC, Nov 1998
Fx119	Fx	-20	14	DJB, Sep 1996
Fx153	Fx	-48	-4	PBC, Feb 1997
L156	L	-17	-41	DJB, Aug 1996
Fx158	Fx	-27	-5	DJB, Jul 1996
F166	F	-49	3	PBC, May 1997
Fx176	Fx	-45	0	PBC, Oct 1997
R190	R	-24	16	DJB, Jul 1996
Lx200	Lx	-17	-40	PBC, Jun 1997
Rx202	Rx	-7	32	DJB, May 1997
Bx222	Bx	6	-16	PBC, Oct 1998

Also see

• List of Herschel conduits
• Composite conduit
• Elementary conduit
• Herschel circuit
• Herschel loop
• Herschel transceiver
• Conduit 1

External links

• Herschel conduit at the Life Lexicon