User:Entity Valkyrie 2/Heisenburp
A Heisenburp device is an object which can detect the passage of a spaceship without affecting the spaceship's path or timing. The name is a reference to Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, a principle in quantum physics which states that it is physically impossible to detect a particle without affecting it in some way; it was coined by Bill Gosper. The first Heisenburp device was constructed by David Bell in December 1992.
Some heisenburp reactions do affect the spaceship, but it still evolves as if it was unaffected.
Examples
The first heisenburp on the left is a glider heisenburp (for the south-west glider in the glider cluster), reacting with a pi-heptomino, the heisenburp device. The glider passes the Pi at T=18. The glider is not affected, but the pi's evolution changed to produce an Eater 1. At gen 18, the glider acts as a rock. The glider's spark causes the Eater 1 to be produced.
Heisenburp devices can be used to not just detect gliders, but also other spaceships such as MWSS, HWSS and Sir Robin. The heisenburp on the right is a combination of an HWSS and glider heisenburps. The heisenburp device of the second heisenburp (right) is a herschel.
- Top left -- Generation 0: The purple HWSS and glider of the spaceship cluster will be used. The HWSS will convert the green herschel to a pi-heptomino (with the help of the blue ship catalyst) shown by the house in cyan, then the glider will change the evolution of the house to make an eater 1 and block (which is the same reaction as the first heisenburp device).
- Left -- Generation 21: The purple HWSS gives out its spark, changing the evolution of the herschel. The image ignores the herschel's first natural glider, which will escape south-westwards.
- Bottom left -- Generation 108: The HWSS cluster glides off to the north undamaged; the purple HWSS didn't receive temporary damage. The blue ship comes into play and will eat the semi-traffic light on the south.
- Top right -- Generation 115: The house (green) has appeared. The purple glider is in the position to be detected. After detection, the house will evolve into the pink eater 1 and block. The blue ship recovers in 6 generations.
- Right -- Generation 130: This is basically the same as T=18 on the first heisenburp. The glider's spark changes the pi-heptomino's evolution.
- Bottom right -- Generation 165: The process is complete. The eater 1 and block have appeared. The purple glider didn't receive temporary damage. The glider cluster drifts off north-eastwards.
Below the image is the LifeViewer version, which uses "ghost" house, "ghost" eater 1 and "ghost" block as markings.
External links
- Heisenburp device at the Life Lexicon