Snark
| Snark | |||||||||
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| Pattern type | Stable reflector | ||||||||
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| Number of cells | 52 | ||||||||
| Bounding box | 23 × 17 | ||||||||
| Angle | 90° | ||||||||
| Repeat time | 43 | ||||||||
| Discovered by | Mike Playle | ||||||||
| Year of discovery | 2013 | ||||||||
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The snark is a 90° stable glider reflector discovered by Mike Playle in April 2013.[1] It is made up of two eaters, a block and a 31-bit still life, the heart of the Snark. It is currently the fastest and the smallest 90° stable glider reflector, both in terms of the population and the bounding box. Another commonly-used stabilization of the catalyst is 34 bits, and many other variants exist.
The reaction was discovered by Dietrich Leithner about 1998, but it consumed another block.[2] A catalyst that could replace the block was found with Bellman, a program for searching catalytic reactions, developed by Mike Playle.
Given its small repeat time, the snark made oscillators of previously unknown periods of 43 and 53 trivial.[3] It also made most large symmetrical Herschel-loop guns obsolete, since it is now possible to make use of the Herschel gliders with a shorter path of the Herschel track itself. [4]
References
- ↑ Mike Playle (April 25, 2013). "Just the place for a Snark!". Retrieved on March 27, 2016.
- ↑ Adam P. Goucher (February 17, 2010). "Re: Incomplete search patterns - try to complete". Retrieved on May 8, 2013.
- ↑ Matthias Merzenich (April 25, 2013). "Re: Just the place for a Snark!". Retrieved on March 27, 2016.
- ↑ Dave Greene (June 8, 2013). "Re: Just the place for a Snark!". Retrieved on April 5, 2017.