Beacon
| Beacon | |||||||||
| View animated image | |||||||||
| View static image | |||||||||
| Pattern type | Oscillator | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscillator type | Babbling brook | ||||||||
| Family | Beacon | ||||||||
| Number of cells | 6 | ||||||||
| Bounding box | 4 × 4 | ||||||||
| Frequency class | 8.8 | ||||||||
| Period | 2 | ||||||||
| Mod | 2 | ||||||||
| Heat | 2 | ||||||||
| Volatility | 0.25 | ||||||||
| Strict volatility | 0.25 | ||||||||
| Rotor type | Diagonal on-off | ||||||||
| Discovered by | John Conway | ||||||||
| Year of discovery | 1970 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
The beacon is a common period-2 oscillator composed of two diagonally touching blocks. It was found by John Conway in March 1970.[1]
The beacon is the simplest on-off. Its rotor, known as diagonal on-off, can be supported by several different stators: the next smallest is seen in eater plug. It can, in some sense, be considered a billiard table.[2]
Occurrence
- See also: List of common oscillators
The beacon is the third most common oscillator in Achim Flammenkamp's census (after the blinker and toad).[3] It is also the thirteenth most common object on Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue.[4] In D2 diagonal symmetry, it is the eighth most common object, being more common than the tub but less common than the ship.
Uses
Beacons are significantly more common in diagonal symmetry than asymmetrically, so they can reform when hit, such as in the p26 pre-pulsar shuttle. The p24 shuttle, also having diagonal symmetry, contains a beacon, although this is incidental and not a catalyst.
A beacon can perform a snake-type catalysis in one of its two phases. Specifically, in the last generation before triggering the boat-bit reaction, the beacon is in the dense phase.
Reactions
| Beacon is hit by two gliders and shifts by (4,4), inverts phase and emits two pi-heptominoes that become a half-bakery and pairs of ponds, boats and blinkers. Occurs in the exhaust of a seminatural p480 ark (Catagolue: here) (click above to open LifeViewer) |
In other rules
tlife and related rules have the isotropic transition S4q, making beacon an 8-cell still life systematically named "block-tie".
See also
References
- ↑ Dean Hickerson's oscillator stamp collection. Retrieved on March 14, 2020.
- ↑ Dave Greene (July 3, 2019). Re: Thread for basic questions (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Achim Flammenkamp (September 7, 2004). "Most seen natural occurring ash objects in Game of Life". Retrieved on January 15, 2009.
- ↑ Adam P. Goucher. "Statistics". Catagolue. Retrieved on June 24, 2016.
External links
- Beacon at the Life Lexicon
- Beacon at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue
- Beacon at Heinrich Koenig's Game of Life Object Catalogs
- Patterns
- Patterns with Catagolue frequency class 8
- Natural periodic objects
- Oscillators with 6 cells
- Periodic objects with minimum population 6
- Patterns with 6 cells
- Patterns found by John Conway
- Patterns found in 1970
- Patterns that can be constructed with 3 gliders
- Oscillators
- Beacon variants
- Babbling brooks
- Oscillators with period 2
- Oscillators with mod 2
- Oscillators with heat 2
- Oscillators with volatility 0.25
- Oscillators with strict volatility 0.25
- Oscillators with rotor Diagonal on-off
- Patterns with rectangular diagonal symmetry