Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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A black cell turns to white, if less than two neighbourhood cells are black (it
“dies of solitude”) or if more than three neighbourhood cells are black (it “dies of
overcrowdedness”).
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The game can start with any initial configuration of black and white cells.
Depending on the initial configuration, different patterns emerge. There are con-
figurations which lead to global expansion. Others end in stationary or in repetitive
pattern which re-emerge after a number of iterations. Other initial configurations
can lead to “extinction”, with only white cells remaining (Fig.
8.4
).
Fig. 8.4 Some pattern types which can occur in the game of life. (a) An initial configuration
which “dies out” after four iterations; (b) an initial configuration which generates a stationary
pattern; (c) an initial configuration which generates an oscillating pattern (re-emerging after a
number of iterations); (d) a pattern that re-emerges but shifts location with time (“glider”); (e)an
initial configuration generating a complex irregular pattern with parts that die out and others that
oscillate or remain stationary. This is the so-called r-pentomino, which grows a large, irregular
pattern taking more than 1,000 iterations before it becomes stationary and/or periodic
