31c/240 orthogonal
| 31c/240 orthogonal | ||
| ||
| Spaceship | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Puffer | Yes | |
| Rake | Yes | |
| Wickstretcher | No | |
| Gun | No | |
31c/240 orthogonal is an orthogonal speed equal to thirty one two-hundred-fortieths of the speed of light.
In April 2013, Dave Greene discovered 31c/240 Herschel-pair climber, a glider-emitting reburnable fuse based on pairs of Herschels traveling along chains of blocks.[1] In January 2014, Kiho Park suggested a workable mechanism, allowing Herschel pairs to climb block chains while suppressing all output gliders.[2] Each passing Herschel shifts its block chain forward by 9 ticks, which is relatively prime to 31, so it is possible to shift the block chains by any desired distance. Thus a rake unit can be adjusted to output gliders on any desired lane. Arbitrary slow salvo recipes can be fired from the rakes, enabling a 31c/240 spaceship to construct its own support by sending LWSS and MWSS spaceships forward to collide with gliders at the front end, and extend the block chains ahead of the ship. The first spaceship built using this technology in September 2014 was the shield bug, soon followed by the smaller centipede. On May 9, 2020, the silverfish, a self-supporting 31c/240 caterpillar-type spaceship designed using the slow salvo recipe from the centipede but a simpler front end, was completed.[3]
In April 2016, Michael Simkin constructed a smaller 31c/240 orthogonal spaceship using caterloopillar technology.[4]
31c/240 had been the slowest speed achieved by orthogonal spaceships until March 5, 2016, when copperhead was discovered.
See also
- Speeds (category)
- Spaceships with speed 31c/240 (category)
- Crawlers with speed 31c/240 (category)
References
- ↑ Dave Greene (April 19, 2013). Re: Blockic splitters (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Kiho Park (January 8, 2014). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Adam P. Goucher (May 9, 2020). Re: 31c/240 caterpillar working notes (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Michael Simkin (April 17, 2016). Re: Caterloopillar WIP (all speeds < c/4) (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
External links
- 31c/240 at the Life Lexicon