Great on-off

	Great on-off
	<a href="/wiki/File:Greatonoff.png" class="image" title="Great on-off image"><img alt="Great on-off image" src="/w/images/7/73/Greatonoff.png" decoding="async" width="161" height="161" /></a>
	<a href="/wiki/File:Greatonoff.png" class="image" title="Great on-off image"><img alt="Great on-off image" src="/w/images/7/73/Greatonoff.png" decoding="async" width="161" height="161" /></a>
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Pattern type	Oscillator
Oscillator type	Babbling brook
Number of cells	18
Bounding box	8×8
Frequency class	22.4
Period	2
Mod	2
Heat	2
Volatility	0.10
Strict volatility	0.10
Rotor type	Diagonal on-off
Discovered by	Unknown
Year of discovery	Unknown
Rules
Outer-totalistic rules	B3/S23 – B378/S01235678
Important rules	Conway Life
# of rules	28 = 256
Isotropic rules	B3j/S2-in3jnr – B2ik34-aijw5-kqr6-n78/S01234-k5678
Glider synthesis
Fewest gliders	5
Catagolue-generated RLE	greatonoff_synth.rle
Uploaded synthesis RLE	greatonoff_synth.rle
Pattern files
Plaintext	greatonoff.cells
RLE	greatonoff.rle
Identifiers
apgcode	xp2_g8gid1e8z1226
Pentadecathlon ID	18P2.475

The great on-off (or pincers^[1]) is a period-2 oscillator. It has the same rotor as the beacon and resembles two touching loops.

Commonness

The great-on-off is the ninth most common naturally-occurring oscillator in Achim Flammenkamp's census, being less common than the quadpole but more common than the figure eight.^[2]

↑ "Pincers". The Life Lexicon. Stephen Silver. Retrieved on May 1, 2009.
↑ Achim Flammenkamp (September 7, 2004). "Most seen natural occurring ash objects in Game of Life". Retrieved on January 15, 2009.