Axaj wrote:I was thinking something larger that makes something easier to utilize.
Boat-bits caught by snakes are surprisingly easy to make use of -- there have been at least half a dozen different mechanisms built into various patterns. Calcyman mentioned a couple, but there are other Herschel pulse dividers, and a "self-constructing" Herschel conduit, a way to catch a glider and turn it into a pi-heptomino and then a clean Herschel with another couple of following gliders, and some other non-Herschel-related reactions that can successfully test for the presence of a boat-bit.
This next part will be old hat to some people, and I may be wandering away from "something larger" into "something way too large", but here goes anyway: back in October 1996, Paul Callahan came up with a stable flip-flop circuit that produced a Herschel or glider output for every two glider inputs. Here are a couple of variants:
Code: Select all
#C asynchronous toggle memory: Paul Callahan, 17 October 1996
x = 299, y = 323, rule = B3/S23
o$b2o$2o8$10bo$11b2o$10b2o83$o$b2o$2o8$10bo$11b2o$10b2o37$297bo$296bob
o$297bo12$296b2o$290b2o4b2o$290b2o4$291b2o$291b2o2b2o$282b2o11bobo$
282bobo12bo$284bo12b2o$284b2o6$283b2o$283bobo$285bo$285b2o5$183bo$184b
2o$183b2o90b2o$275b2o2$266b2obo$266bob2o$284b2o$284bo$282bobo$193bo88b
2o$194b2o$193b2o72bo$204b2o61b3o$204b2o52bo11bo$239b2o17b3o8b2o14bo$
240bo20bo22bobo$239bo20b2o23bo$239b2o$230b2o$230bobo$203b2o26bo$203b2o
2$242b2o36b2o$211b2o29b2o36bobo$211b2o69bo$273b2o7b2o$273bo$274b3o$
276bo2$251b2o$198b2o50bobo$198b2o50bo$202b2o45b2o$201bobo$201bo$200b2o
$213b2o$213b2o3$215b2o$215b2o15$272b2o$272b2o9$287b2o$287b2o10$267b2o$
268bo$265b3o$265bo4$283b2o$283bobo$285bo$285b2o5$183bo$184b2o$183b2o
90b2o$275b2o2$266b2obo$266bob2o$284b2o$284bo$282bobo$193bo88b2o$194b2o
$193b2o72bo$204b2o61b3o$204b2o52bo11bo$239b2o17b3o8b2o14bo$240bo20bo
22bobo$239bo20b2o23bo$239b2o$230b2o$230bobo$203b2o26bo$203b2o2$242b2o
36b2o$211b2o29b2o36bobo$211b2o69bo$273b2o7b2o$273bo$274b3o$276bo2$251b
2o$198b2o50bobo$198b2o50bo$202b2o45b2o$201bobo$201bo$200b2o$213b2o$
213b2o3$215b2o$215b2o!
It's big and slow, but Spartan (easily glider-constructible). There's a third version that uses an Fx77 conduit instead of the Fx119, but it's even slower to recover.
Nowadays there are slightly faster Herschel-based flip-flops, such as
Code: Select all
#C Herschel period doubler by Paul Callahan, 2 October 1997,
#C attached to a Stephen Silver reflector -- recovery in 497 ticks.
x = 263, y = 210, rule = B3/S23
bo$2bo$3o117$174bo$174b3o$177bo23b2o$176b2o23bo$199bobo$157bo37b2o2b2o
$126bo4bo9bo15b3o35b2o$127bo3b3o5b3o18bo$125b3o6bo3bo20b2o11b2o$133b2o
3b2o32b2o8$147b2o52b2o$147b2o34b2o16bobo$135b2o45bobo18bo$134bo2bo44bo
20b2o$129b2o4b2o44b2o4b2o$128bobo25bo3b2o23bo2bo$128bo26bobo3bo23b2o$
127b2o26b2o3bo33b2o$137b2o20bo12b2o20b2o$137bo17b5obo10bo$138b3o14bo4b
2o11b3o$140bo15b3o16bo$158bob2o$159bobo2$204b2o$204bo$183b2o17bobo$
184bo17b2o$184bobo$185b2o3$204b2o$204bo$202bobo11b2o$202b2o12bo$214bob
o$210b2o2b2o$210b2o4$209b2o$209b2o4b2o$215b2o8$221b2o$221bo$219bobo$
219b2o5$233bo$223b2o6b3o$223bo6bo$221bobo6b2o$221b2o$261bo$260bobo$
208b2o50bobo$207bobo51bo$207bo12b2o11b2o$206b2o12b2o11b2o5$209b2o$208b
obo$208bo$207b2o$218b2o21b2o$218b2o22bo$239b3o$239bo!
But obviously, useful stable flip-flop patterns with glider inputs are still fairly big and slow. There are lots of smaller period doublers that are periodic -- i.e., patterns including oscillators as well as still lifes.
Some examples are given here (LifeNews). But I'm afraid that's getting _really_ far afield from the original subject.
EDIT Apr 2017: If anyone does a search and ends up here, there's been a lot of progress on period-doubling "flip-flops" in the past several years, starting with Guam's
semisnark. See also the
Stable Signal Converters thread for mechanisms that could easily be blocked off to make spaceship eaters.