Cellular Automata
Cellular Automata (CAs) consist of a set of cells, usually arranged in rows (1-dimensional CAs), or in a
grid (2-dimensional CAs). Each cell has a state, most frequently just one of 2,
representing "on" or "off" (or "alive" and "dead", respectively).
Rules are used to determine successor states of each cell.
CAs are discrete dynamical systems. Their state evolution just depends on the
initial state (and the rules used to update each cell).
Conway's game of life
Conway's game of life is a 2 dimensional cellular automaton. In this particular CA, all cells are updated synchronously at the same time. The following rules are used to set a cell to either "dead" or "alive" (from the Wikipedia Article on Conway's Game of Life):- Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if caused by under-population.
- Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation.
- Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by overcrowding.
- Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell, as if by reproduction.
Additional rules
In the demo on the right, an extra, global energy value is used, along with extra rules. This energy is newly available at each step, but any live cell consumes one energy point:- If the current energy consumption is higher than the available energy, the cell dies and one energy point is gained.
- A cell can only become a live cell if there is enough available energy. If it becomes alive, it immediately consumes one energy point.
- If a cell dies because of too few / too many neighbours, it releases back one energy point.