lexicon.txt

exm for Experiments with MATLAB (by Cleve Moler in 2008), 这本书是关于MATLAB的教材

	...*.***..
	...*.*..*.
	**.*...*.*
	**.*....*.
	....****..
	..........
	....**....
	....**....

:bushing:  That part of the {stator} of an {oscillator} which is
   adjacent to the {rotor}.  Compare {casing}.

:butterfly:  The following pattern, or the formation of two beehives
   that it evolves into after 33 generations.  (Compare {teardrop},
   where the beehives are five cells closer together.)
	*...
	**..
	*.*.
	.***

:by flops: (p2)  Found by Robert Wainwright.
	...*..
	.*.*..
	.....*
	*****.
	.....*
	.*.*..
	...*..

:c: = {speed of light}

:CA: = {cellular automaton}

:caber tosser:  Any pattern whose {population} is asymptotic to c.log(t)
   for some constant c, and which contains a {glider} (or other
   {spaceship}) bouncing between a slower receding spaceship and a
   fixed {reflector} which emits a spaceship (in addition to the
   reflected one) whenever the bouncing spaceship hits it.
     As the receding spaceship gets further away the bouncing spaceship
   takes longer to complete each cycle, and so the extra spaceships
   emitted by the reflector are produced at increasingly large
   intervals.  More precisely, if v is the speed of the bouncing
   spaceship and u the speed of the receding spaceship, then each
   interval is (v+u)/(v-u) times as long as the previous one.  The
   population at time t is therefore n.log(t)/log((v+u)/(v-u)) + O(1),
   where n is the population of one of the extra spaceships (assumed
   constant).
     The first caber tosser was built by Dean Hickerson in May 1991.

:Cambridge pulsar CP 48-56-72: = {pulsar}  (The numbers refer to
   the populations of the three {phase}s.  The Life pulsar was indeed
   discovered at Cambridge, like the first real pulsar a few years
   earlier.)

:Canada goose: (c/4 diagonally, p4)  Found by Jason Summers, January
   1999.  It consists of a {glider} plus a {tagalong}.
	***..........
	*.........**.
	.*......***.*
	...**..**....
	....*........
	........*....
	....**...*...
	...*.*.**....
	...*.*..*.**.
	..*....**....
	..**.........
	..**.........
   At the time of its discovery the Canada goose was the smallest known
   diagonal {spaceship} other than the glider, but this record has since
   been beaten, first by the second spaceship shown under {Orion}, and
   more recently by {quarter}.

:candelabra: (p3)  By Charles Trawick.  See also the note under {cap}.
	....**....**....
	.*..*......*..*.
	*.*.*......*.*.*
	.*..*.****.*..*.
	....*.*..*.*....
	.....*....*.....

:candlefrobra: (p3)  Found by Robert Wainwright in November 1984.
	.....*....
	.*.**.*.**
	*.*...*.**
	.*....*...
	.....**...
   The following diagram shows that a pair of these can act in some ways
   like {killer toads}.  See also {snacker}.
	....*...........*....
	**.*.**.*...*.**.*.**
	**.*...*.*.*.*...*.**
	...*....*...*....*...
	...**...........**...
	.....................
	.....................
	.........***.........
	.........*..*........
	.........*...........
	.........*...*.......
	.........*...*.......
	.........*...........
	..........*.*........

:canoe: (p1)
	...**
	....*
	...*.
	*.*..
	**...

:cap:  The following {induction coil}.  It can also be easily be
   stabilized to form a p3 oscillator - see {candelabra} for a slight
   variation on this.
	.**.
	*..*
	****

:carnival shuttle: (p12)  Found by Robert Wainwright in September 1984
   (using {MW emulator}s at the end, instead of the {monogram}s shown
   here).
	.................................*...*
	**...**..........................*****
	.*.*.*...*..*......**...*..*.......*..
	.**.**..**...**....**..**...**....*.*.
	.*.*.*...*..*......**...*..*.......*..
	**...**..........................*****
	.................................*...*

:carrier: = {aircraft carrier}

:casing:  That part of the {stator} of an {oscillator} which is not
   adjacent to the {rotor}.  Compare {bushing}.

:catacryst:  A 58-cell quadratic growth pattern found by Nick Gotts
   in April 2000.  This was formerly the smallest known pattern with
   superlinear growth, but has since been superseded by the related
   {metacatacryst}.  The catacryst consists of three {ark}s plus a
   glider-producing {switch engine}.  It produces a block-laying switch
   engine every 47616 generations.  Each block-laying switch engine has
   only a finite life, but the length of this life increases linearly
   with each new switch engine, so that the pattern overall grows
   quadratically, as an unusual type of MMS {breeder}.

:catalyst:  An object that participates in a reaction but emerges from
   it unharmed.  The term is mostly applied to {still life}s, but can
   also be used of {oscillator}s, {spaceship}s, etc.  The still lifes
   and oscillators which form a {conduit} are examples of catalysts.

:caterer: (p3)  Found by Dean Hickerson, August 1989.  Compare
   with {jam}.  In terms of its minimum {population} of 12 this is
   the smallest p3 {oscillator}.  See also {double caterer} and
   {triple caterer}.
	..*.....
	*...****
	*...*...
	*.......
	...*....
	.**.....
   More generally, any oscillator which serves up a {bit} in the
   same manner may be referred to as a caterer.

:Caterpillar:  A {spaceship} that works by laying tracks at its
   front end.  The only example constructed to date is a p270 17c/45
   spaceship built by Gabriel Nivasch in December 2004, based on work
   by himself, Jason Summers and David Bell.  This Caterpillar has
   a population of about 12 million in each generation and was put
   together by a computer program that Nivasch wrote.  It is by far
   the largest and most complex Life object ever constructed.
     The 17c/45 Caterpillar is based on the following reaction between
   a {pi-heptomino} and a {blinker}:
	...............*
	*.............**
	*............**.
	*.............**
	...............*
   In this reaction, the pi moves forward 17 cells in the course of 45
   generations, while the blinker moves back 6 cells and is rephased.
   This reaction has been known for many years, but it was only in
   September 2002 that David Bell suggested that it could be used to
   build a 17c/45 spaceship, based on a reaction he had found in which
   pis crawling along two rows of blinkers interact to emit a glider
   every 45 generations.  Similar glider-emitting interactions were
   later found by Gabriel Nivasch and Jason Summers.  The basic idea of
   the spaceship design is that streams of gliders created in this way
   can be used to construct fleets of {standard spaceship}s which convey
   gliders to the front of the blinker tracks, where they can be used to
   build more blinkers.
     A different Caterpillar may be possible based on the following
   reaction, in which the pattern at top left reappears after 31
   generations displaced by (13,1), having produced a new NW-travelling
   glider.  In this case the tracks would be waves of backward-moving
   gliders.
	.**.....................
	...*....................
	...*.**.................
	***....*................
	.......*................
	.....***................
	........................
	........................
	........................
	........................
	........................
	........................
	.....................***
	.....................*..
	......................*.

:Catherine wheel: = {pinwheel}

:cauldron: (p8)  Found in 1971 independently by Don Woods and Robert
   Wainwright.  Compare with {Hertz oscillator}.
	.....*.....
	....*.*....
	.....*.....
	...........
	...*****...
	*.*.....*.*
	**.*...*.**
	...*...*...
	...*...*...
	....***....
	...........
	....**.*...
	....*.**...

:cavity: = {eater plug}

:cell:  The fundamental unit of space in the Life universe.  The term is
   often used to mean a live cell - the sense is usually clear from the
   context.

:cellular automaton:  A certain class of mathematical objects of which
   {Life} is an example.  A cellular automaton consists of a number of
   things.  First there is a positive integer n which is the dimension
   of the cellular automaton.  Then there is a finite set of states S,
   with at least two members.  A state for the whole cellular automaton
   is obtained by assigning an element of S to each point of the
   n-dimensional lattice Z^n (where Z is the set of all integers).
   The points of Z^n are usually called cells.  The cellular automaton
   also has the concept of a neighbourhood.  The neighbourhood N of the
   origin is some finite (nonempty) subset of Z^n.  The neighbourhood
   of any other cell is obtained in the obvious way by translating that
   of the origin.  Finally there is a transition rule, which is a
   function from S^N to S (that is to say, for each possible state of
   the neighbourhood the transition rule specifies some cell state).
   The state of the cellular automaton evolves in discrete time, with
   the state of each cell at time t+1 being determined by the state
   of its neighbourhood at time t, in accordance with the transition
   rule.
     There are some variations on the above definition.  It is common
   to require that there be a quiescent state, that is, a state such
   that if the whole universe is in that state at generation 0 then it
   will remain so in generation 1.  (In Life the OFF state is quiescent,
   but the ON state is not.)  Other variations allow spaces other than
   Z^n, neighbourhoods that vary over space and/or time, probabilistic
   or other non-deterministic transition rules, etc.
     It is common for the neighbourhood of a cell to be the 3x...x3
   (hyper)cube centred on that cell.  (This includes those cases where
   the neighbourhood might more naturally be thought of as a proper
   subset of this cube.)   This is known as the Moore neighbourhood.

:centinal: (p100)  Found by Bill Gosper.  This combines the mechanisms
   of the p46 and p54 shuttles (see {twin bees shuttle} and
   {p54 shuttle}).
	**................................................**
	.*................................................*.
	.*.*.....................**.....................*.*.
	..**........*............**............**.......**..
	...........**..........................*.*..........
	..........**.............................*..........
	...........**..**......................***..........
	....................................................
	....................................................
	....................................................
	...........**..**......................***..........
	..........**.............................*..........
	...........**..........................*.*..........
	..**........*............**............**.......**..
	.*.*.....................**.....................*.*.
	.*................................................*.
	**................................................**

:century: (stabilizes at time 103)  This is a common pattern which
   evolves into three {block}s and a {blinker}.  In June 1996 Dave
   Buckingham built a neat p246 glider {gun} using a century as the
   engine.  See also {bookend} and {diuresis}.
	..**
	***.
	.*..

:chemist: (p5)
	.......*.......
	.......***.....
	..........*....
	.....***..*..**
	....*.*.*.*.*.*
	....*...*.*.*..
	.**.*.....*.**.
	..*.*.*...*....
	*.*.*.*.*.*....
	**..*..***.....
	....*..........
	.....***.......
	.......*.......

:C-heptomino:  Name given by Conway to the following {heptomino}, a less
   common variant of the {B-heptomino}.
	.***
	***.
	.*..

:Cheshire cat:  A block {predecessor} by C. R. Tompkins that
   unaccountably appeared both in Scientific American and in
   {Winning Ways}.  See also {grin}.
	.*..*.
	.****.
	*....*
	*.**.*
	*....*
	.****.

:chicken wire:  A type of {stable} {agar} of {density} 1/2.  The
   simplest version is formed from the tile:
	**..
	..**
   But the "wires" can have length greater than two and need not
   all be the same.  For example:
	**...****.....
	..***....*****

:cigar: = {mango}

:cis-beacon on anvil: (p2)
	...**.
	....*.
	.*....
	.**...
	......
	.****.
	*....*
	.***.*
	...*.**

:cis-beacon on table: (p2)
	..**
	...*
	*...
	**..
	....
	****
	*..*

:cis-boat with tail: (p1)
	.*...
	*.*..
	**.*.
	...*.
	...**

:cis fuse with two tails: (p1)  See also {pulsar quadrant}.
	...*..
	.***..
	*...**
	.*..*.
	..*.*.
	...*..

:cis-mirrored R-bee: (p1)
	.**.**.
	*.*.*.*
	*.*.*.*
	.*...*.

:cis snake: = {canoe}

:clean:  Opposite of {dirty}.  A reaction which produces a small number
   of different products which are desired or which are easily deleted
   is said to be clean.  For example, a {puffer} which produces just one
   object per period is clean.  Clean reactions are useful because they
   can be used as building blocks in larger constructions.
     When a {fuse} is said to be clean, or to burn cleanly, this usually
   means that no debris at all is left behind.

:clock: (p2)  Found by Simon Norton, May 1970.  This is the fifth or
   sixth most common {oscillator}, being about as frequent as the
   {pentadecathlon}, but much less frequent than the {blinker}, {toad},
   {beacon} or {pulsar}.  But it's surprisingly rare considering its
   small size.
	..*.
	*.*.
	.*.*
	.*..

:clock II: (p4)  Compare with {pinwheel}.
	......**....
	......**....
	............
	....****....
	**.*....*...
	**.*..*.*...
	...*..*.*.**
	...*.*..*.**
	....****....
	............
	....**......