Blinker

Blinker
3o! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART ]] #C [[ LOOP 2 GPS 2 THUMBSIZE 3 ZOOM 63 ]]
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Pattern type	Oscillator
Oscillator type	Muttering moat
Family	Clock
Number of cells	3
Bounding box	3 × 3
Frequency class	0.1
Period	2
Mod	1
Heat	4
Volatility	0.80
Strict volatility	0.80
Rotor type	Pole 2
Discovered by	John Conway
Year of discovery	1969
Rules Outer-totalistic rules B3/S2 – B345678/S02345678 Important rules Conway Life, HighLife # of rules 212 = 4096 Isotropic rules B3i/S2i – B2-a345678/S01c2345678
Glider synthesis Fewest gliders 2 Catagolue-generated RLE synthesis Uploaded synthesis RLE blinker_synth.rle
Pattern files Plaintext blinker.cells RLE blinker.rle
Identifiers apgcode xp2_7 Pentadecathlon ID 3P2.1

The blinker is the smallest and most common oscillator, found by John Conway in 1969. It is one of only a handful of known oscillators that is a polyomino, and it is the only known finite oscillator that is one cell thick (although the pentadecathlon is "almost" one cell thick in that there is a one cell thick pattern that is a grandparent of it, and the infinite version of the worker bee is one cell thick).

Blinkers are very commonly formed in a set of four called the traffic light; they can similarly be born in two potential sets of six, the interchanges. There is also a fairly common constellation of four blinkers and two boat-ties.

When phased correctly, blinkers can provide a purpose similar to an induction coil as seen on the overweight emulator, and can sometimes be positioned so that it either contacts the oscillating segment directly or is one cell away from it similarly to normal induction coils.

The blinker can also be a stationary segment known as "line" in certain still lifes; the most basic of these being integral sign but can also be used to connect any number of pre-blocks, tubs, beehives, loaves, mangoes, hooks, claws, etc. together. One example is boat line hook.

The blinker can function as a transparent catalyst in a certain reaction where it is converted into a traffic light predecessor, which a fishhook (or another catalyst that engages in the same type of catalyzing reaction, such as an eater 2) then converts back to a blinker in the same position. This rephases the blinker, so it can only be used in odd-period oscillators, such as 66P13 and the p47 pre-pulsar shuttle. In addition, worker bee and 50P35 involve a similar reaction.

Commonness

Main article: List of common oscillators

The blinker is more than one hundred times as common in Achim Flammenkamp's census as the second most common oscillator, the toad. The blinker is also the most common object in that census and the second most common object on Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue, with the other object in the top two being the block in both censuses. The apparent difference is a result of block frequency differing, not blinker frequency.

About two thirds of blinkers form from traffic lights, including partial ones (such as interchanges, or if something interrupts its evolution).

Glider synthesis

There are two 2-glider collisions, one perpendicular and the other head-on, that create a blinker via a sequence named "angel" as shown below. Another perpendicular 2-glider collision also creates a blinker.

x = 5, y = 4, rule = B3/S23 2bo$2ob2o$bobo$2bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ GPS 4 THUMBSIZE 2 ]] A common sequence that becomes a single edgeshot blinker, called an angel (click above to open LifeViewer) RLE: here Plaintext: here

x = 5, y = 3, rule = B3/S23 5o$o3bo$b3o! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ GPS 4 THUMBSIZE 2 ]] Less common than the angel, but still decently common. Also forms a single blinker (click above to open LifeViewer) RLE: here Plaintext: here

See also

• Blinker pull

External links

• Blinker at the Life Lexicon
• Blinker at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue
• Three-Bit Life Objects at Mark D. Niemiec's Life Page (download pattern file: 0/3bl.rle)
• 3P2.1 at Heinrich Koenig's Game of Life Object Catalogs