- Two gliders traveling in the same direction (not necessarily the same path) hit a stable constellation.
- Both gliders are cleanly destroyed.
- Another glider is sent in the opposite direction along a path that does not collide with either entering glider.
- The object is fully restored and reusable at some point after the collision.
There are simply a lot more combinations to try of gliders entering at different relative phases, and some constellation of still lifes could restore itself, either alone or with the assistance of a catalyst. I just don't remember ever searching for such a pattern (since it seemed less interesting than a stable reflector) but I wonder if anyone else has.
Just as a strawman, here is one based on the initial stage of the first stable reflector. Two gliders enter so one can clean up the beehive (like the Herschel receiver, but adjusted to avoid the exiting glider). Instead of trying to perturb the result into a Herschel, I just want to eat it as long as the block is restored. In fact, the best I could find with gencols was one exiting glider in the original direction. So I have to add another eater to get rid of it*.
Code: Select all
x = 94, y = 94, rule = B3/S23
2bo$obo$b2o5$10bo$11b2o$10b2o41$52bo$50bobo$51b2o3$78bo$76b3o$60bo14bo
$61b2o12b2o$60b2o5$85bo$83b3o$82bo$70bo11b2o$60b2o7bobo$60b2o7bobo$70b
o5$72b2o$72b2o9$90b2o$90bobo$92bo$92b2o2$76b2o$77bo$74b3o$74bo!
*The reason I want to remove the extra glider is that this is intended as the terminal of a glider memory loop. Pairs of gliders can be produced at low cost at one end, but I want the terminal to be as simple as possible. I also don't want any glider pollution. I couldn't find any simpler way just to eat the extra part, but I did not look very hard. This is just to illustrate what the pattern is supposed to do and my example is intentionally clunky.