Odd traffic stop
| Odd traffic stop | |||||||||
| View static image | |||||||||
| Pattern type | Constellation Oscillator | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of cells | 53 | ||||||||
| Bounding box | 17 × 17 | ||||||||
| Period | 2 | ||||||||
| Mod | 2 | ||||||||
| Heat | 12.0 | ||||||||
| Volatility | 0.20 | ||||||||
| Strict volatility | 0.20 | ||||||||
| Discovered by | Nico Brown | ||||||||
| Year of discovery | 2023 | ||||||||
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Odd traffic stop is a catalyst found by Nico Brown on May 31, 2023, which has been used to create oscillators of various periods.[1]
When certain objects hit the catalyst in the correct way, a blinker turns into a block, and the entire three quarters traffic light constellation turns into a group of cells that gets turned into a traffic light by one fishhook, and the other fishhook eats one of the four blinkers to return the pattern to the original three blinkers. An eater 3 (drifter-type variant shown in the infobox) consumes a block in the process.
It is used in the p41 pi-heptomino hassler.
Comparison with traffic stop
The odd traffic stop has a recovery time of 31 ticks, faster than the traffic stop's 36. Unlike the earlier traffic stop that it is named after, it only works at odd periods due to the phase-shifted blinkers. The two forms are not interchangeable ignoring even/odd constraints, even though it may look that way; the required reaction differs by one cell as shown below.
| Odd traffic stop on left; original traffic stop on right. The blinkers are aligned horizontally, but the pi-heptomino is not, showing that they are not interchangeable (click above to open LifeViewer) |
However, by shifting the eater 1 down by one cell, the odd traffic stop can still be used as an even traffic stop. This results in a P2 catalyst that can act both in an even and an odd way, though with a different interaction:
| (click above to open LifeViewer) |
Similar to how traffic stop dimerizes to form the oscillator 22P36, odd traffic stop dimerizes to form an 80-cell period-27 oscillator, as demonstrated below. This p27 traffic light hassler was originally discovered by Jason Summers, and in 2014 Matthias Merzenich noted the application of eater 3.[2]
| 80P27 (left) and 22P36 (right) (click above to open LifeViewer) RLE: here Plaintext: here |
Derivative
The odd traffic stop can be connected to a transparent loaf to form a different catalyst. Without the odd traffic stop, the loaf would react with a two-cell surface and become an I-heptomino descendant; this reaction is slightly different from the loaf spin reaction in baker's dozen. An example can be seen in the second known p79 engine shown below.
| The second known p79 engine, showing how loaf + odd traffic stop works. (click above to open LifeViewer) RLE: here Plaintext: here |
See also
References
- ↑ Nico Brown (May 31, 2023). Re: Oscillator Discussion Thread (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ Matthias Merzenich (August 30, 2014). Re: Thread For Your Accidental Discoveries (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
External links
- Odd traffic stop at Adam P. Goucher's Catagolue (pseudo-object)