Difference between revisions of "Pentadecathlon"

From LifeWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(This term does not seem to actually be used by anyone. -- Undo revision 37210 by Wwei23 (talk))
Line 6: Line 6:
|by          = 9
|by          = 9
|p            = 15
|p            = 15
|m           = 15
|m           = 15
|h            = 22.4
|h            = 22.4
|v            = 1.00
|v            = 1.00
|rotor = Pentadecathlon
|rotor       = Pentadecathlon
|discoverer  = John Conway
|discoverer  = John Conway
|discoveryear = 1970
|discoveryear = 1970
Line 23: Line 23:
|animated    = yes
|animated    = yes
|viewerconfig = #C [[ THUMBSIZE 3 GPS 5 ZOOM 24 HEIGHT 300 WIDTH 600 ]]
|viewerconfig = #C [[ THUMBSIZE 3 GPS 5 ZOOM 24 HEIGHT 300 WIDTH 600 ]]
|apgcode      = xp15_4r4z4r4
}}
}}
'''Pentadecathlon''' (or '''PD'''; plural '''pentadecathlons'''{{refn|group=note|The correct Ancient Greek dual and plural forms, ''pentadecathlo'' and ''pentadecathla'',<ref name="wiktionary" /> are not in common use.}}) is a [[period]] [[:category:oscillators with period 15|15]] [[oscillator]] that was found in [[:Category:Patterns found in 1970|1970]] by [[:Category:Patterns found by John Conway|John Conway]] while tracking the history of short rows of cells (see [[one cell thick pattern]]); indeed, 10 cells placed in a row evolve into this object. It is the only known oscillator that is a [[polyomino]] in more than one [[phase]] (besides the blinker).
'''Pentadecathlon''' (or '''PD'''; plural '''pentadecathlons'''{{refn|group=note|The correct Ancient Greek dual and plural forms, ''pentadecathlo'' and ''pentadecathla'',<ref name="wiktionary" /> are not in common use.}}) is a [[period]] [[:category:oscillators with period 15|15]] [[oscillator]] that was found in [[:Category:Patterns found in 1970|1970]] by [[:Category:Patterns found by John Conway|John Conway]] while tracking the history of short rows of cells (see [[one cell thick pattern]]); indeed, 10 cells placed in a row evolve into this object. It is the only known oscillator that is a [[polyomino]] in more than one [[phase]] (besides the blinker).

Revision as of 21:23, 1 July 2017

Pentadecathlon
2bo4bo2b$2ob4ob2o$2bo4bo! #C [[ THUMBSIZE 2 THEME 6 GRID GRIDMAJOR 0 SUPPRESS THUMBLAUNCH ]] #C [[ AUTOSTART ]] #C [[ THUMBSIZE 3 GPS 5 ZOOM 24 HEIGHT 300 WIDTH 600 ]]
Pattern type Oscillator
Number of cells 12
Bounding box 16 × 9
Period 15
Mod 15
Heat 22.4
Volatility 1.00
Strict volatility Unknown
Rotor type Pentadecathlon
Discovered by John Conway
Year of discovery 1970

Pentadecathlon (or PD; plural pentadecathlons[note 1]) is a period 15 oscillator that was found in 1970 by John Conway while tracking the history of short rows of cells (see one cell thick pattern); indeed, 10 cells placed in a row evolve into this object. It is the only known oscillator that is a polyomino in more than one phase (besides the blinker).

Commonness

Pentadecathlon is the most natural oscillator of period greater than 3 (and indeed, the second most natural oscillator of period greater than 2) in Achim Flammenkamp's census. In fact, it is the fifth or sixth most common oscillator overall in this census, being about as frequent as the clock, but much less frequent than the blinker, toad, beacon or pulsar.[2][3] The pentadecathlon is also the fifty-second most common object on Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue.[4]

Uses of the pentadecathlon

The pentadecathlon is so called because it has a period of 15 generations. This, being a factor of 30, means that it can be elegantly used in combination with period 30 devices (based on the queen bee shuttle). Firstly, it can reflect a glider 180° as in P60 glider shuttle, and a pair of perpendicular pentadecathlons can rotate a glider 90°.

Hassling capabilities

The pentadecathlon is classified as a pulsating oscillator, since it undulates throughout its cycle. During this process, the pentadecathlon throws off multiple accessible sparks. More specifically, the oscillator produces horizontal < sparks and vertical domino sparks. Two copies of these domino sparks can be used to hassle toads in two distinct ways. The < sparks elegantly convert blocks into gliders, which forms the basis of the p30 *WSS => glider converter and aforementioned glider reflectors. This property is also exploited in numerous oscillators.

Other Rules

  • In B3/S238, it works as a P15 oscillator, but it generates extra internal sparks

See also

Notes

  1. The correct Ancient Greek dual and plural forms, pentadecathlo and pentadecathla,[1] are not in common use.

References

  1. "ἆθλον". English Wiktionary. Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  2. Achim Flammenkamp (September 7, 2004). "Most seen natural occurring ash objects in Game of Life". Retrieved on January 15, 2009.
  3. "Census Results in Conway's Game of Life". The Online Life-Like CA Soup Search. Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
  4. Adam P. Goucher. "Statistics". Catagolue. Retrieved on June 24, 2016.

External links

Template:LinkWeisstein