On Circular Growth of Life-Like Automata
摘要
Growing circular patterns in nature is usually attributed to diffusion processes (e.g. chemical systems), multiplication of organisms (e.g. bacterial colonies) and diffusion-limited aggregation (e.g. crystal formation). The growth phenomenon in cellular automata was originally conceptualized by John von Neumann, highlighting the connection between excitable and resting states. We present a Life-like evolution rule capable of exhibiting growth similar to nearly perfect circular patterns, and performing such approximations better than previous rules by same automaton means. Results may be relevant to space-filling, numerical methods and packing applications.