The Game of Life - Patterns

Many, many patterns have been discovered that can be played out on the grid. These patterns are usually characterised by their behaviour.

Simulation Controls:

• Next Generation: Advances the pattern one generation
• Start: The pattern continues moving for an appropriate amount of time. Note that in theory the grid is infinite, and hence the pattern might keep on expanding forever ( this only applies if the pattern has reached the edge of the screen).
• Reset: Halts the movement, and resets grid with original pattern.

Some major pattern forms are:

• Type I - Still Lives
  A still life is an object in which all cells survive, and no new births are formed.
  Many patterns eventually reach still life
  i.e. after following the rules the patterns reach a state where no new cells are born, and in which all the existing cells survive.
  Below are some of the most common still life patterns and their names:

  Sorry, this applet can only be viewed through a Java-enabled browser.
  This applet displays a picture of five common still life configurations.

• Type II - Oscillators
  These patterns evolve through a fixed sequence of states and eventually return to their original state.
  Oscillators can be further classified by their form and function. Examples are:
  • 'Flip-Flop' - an oscillator which returns to its original configuration in 2 generations.
  • 'Phoenix' - an oscillator in which every living cells in every generation dies.
  • Inductor - a pulsator with a line of symmetry which is used to suppress births.
  
  Below are some examples of oscillators:

  Sorry, this applet can only be viewed through a Java-enabled browser.
  This applet displays a picture of three oscillating configurations.

• Type III - Spaceships
  These patterns evolve through a fixed sequence of states and eventually return to their original state, but translated in space ( ie at different position in the grid), moving at a constant speed.
  NB Objects which return to their original state, without moving are oscillators, and are not considered as spaceships.
  Below is an example of a light spaceship pattern:

  Sorry, this applet can only be viewed through a Java-enabled browser.
  This applet displays a picture of the spaceship configuration 'Light Spaceship'.

• Type IV - Patterns that constantly increase in population size.
  
  • Type IVa - Guns : oscillators that emit spaceships
  • Type IVb - Puffers : these are spaceships which leave behind still-lifes, oscillators, and/or spaceships each cyle.
    Below is an example of a puffer train

    Sorry, this applet can only be viewed through a Java-enabled browser.
    This applet displays a picture of Gosper's P20 Puffer Train.

  • Type IVc - Breeders: these patterns increase their population quadratically.

• Type V - Unstable
  These patterns evolve through a sequence of states which never return to the original state.
  Small patterns which last a long time before stabilizing are called metheuselahs.
  Below is a very pretty example of a metheuselah pattern which I call 'Tetris':

  Sorry, this applet can only be viewed through a Java-enabled browser.
  This applet displays a picture of a metheuselah in the shape of two tetris blocks.