What to watch
- The engine moves diagonally.
- It leaves stable 2 x 2 blocks in its wake.
- A larger or unbounded board is needed for a satisfying long demonstration.
Growth patterns
Block-laying switch engine
A diagonal puffer that repeatedly lays blocks behind it.
The block-laying switch engine is one of the clearest examples of a small engine producing a visible trail. It belongs in the regular catalogue as a preview and in the advanced module for longer runs.
Block-laying switch engine is a puffer
The block-laying switch engine is a diagonal c/12 puffer. It moves while leaving stable blocks behind, so it is best studied on a roomy or infinite board after the small preview here.
Growth patterns43 cells29 x 28 boxperiod 288
- Category
- Growth patterns
- Period
- 288
- Movement
- c/12 diagonal
- Population
- 43 cells
- Bounding box
- 29 x 28
- Known since
- 1971
How to use it
Use it to introduce puffers and then hand users to the infinite board for longer viewing.
Open the pattern in the lab, reduce the speed, and use single-step mode when a phase change is hard to see. The green preview marks births in the next generation; red outlines mark live cells that will die.
Next experiments
Compare nearby patterns
Move between similar structures to see which facts change: box size, lifespan, extinction, motion, and final ash.
Switch engine
A small methuselah that can be used to build diagonal puffers.
- Size
- 6 x 4
- Lifespan
- 3,911 generations
Pufferfish
An almost natural c/2 puffer that leaves debris as it moves.
- Size
- 15 x 12
- Lifespan
- 4
Gosper glider gun
The first known finite pattern with unbounded growth.
- Size
- 36 x 9
- Lifespan
- 30
Acorn
A seven-cell seed with a famously long chaotic evolution.
- Size
- 7 x 3
- Lifespan
- 5,206 generations