What to watch
- Run slowly to see the three distinct phases.
- Notice that the center and diagonals stay empty.
- The oscillator never emits debris despite a large active surface.
Oscillators
Pulsar
A large period-3 oscillator with strong fourfold symmetry.
The pulsar is one of the most recognizable Life patterns. Its period-3 cycle shows how repeated births and deaths can remain bounded.
- Category
- Oscillators
- Period
- 3
- Movement
- bounded
- Population
- 48 cells
- Bounding box
- 13 x 13
- Known since
- 1970
Exact generation snapshots
Compare the pattern over time
The three phases return to the original 48-cell phase.
These images are computed on an unbounded B3/S23 plane. Each frame is fitted to its own live-cell bounding box; compare the labels rather than the apparent scale.
How to use it
Use it as the canonical visual example for bounded periodic motion.
Compare this pattern with its family
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.
Blinker
The smallest oscillator, flipping between vertical and horizontal lines.
- Size
- 3 x 3
- Lifespan
- 2
Toad
A period-2 oscillator made from two offset rows of three cells.
- Size
- 4 x 2
- Lifespan
- 2
Beacon
Two blocks that repeatedly switch their touching corner cells.
- Size
- 4 x 4
- Lifespan
- 2
Pentadecathlon
A slim oscillator with a much longer cycle than its size suggests.
- Size
- 3 x 10
- Lifespan
- 15