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Emergence 2009: 1D Cellular Automaton Variant I (temporary)

Emergence

Biology 361 = Computer Science 361
Bryn Mawr College, Spring 2009

 

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Download/view: OneRule.nlogo

 

WHAT IS IT?
This model is a one-dimensional, two-state, neighbor-dependent cellular automaton.
HOW IT WORKS
The model follows rule #225 (11100001).
HOW TO USE IT

SETUP, STEP, and GO buttons are standard. The spacebar is an action key for GO. INITIAL-STATE allows you to select the initial state of the world from a drop-down menu. The options are:

- SINGLE-SIDE: a single patch on at the left end

- SINGLE-MIDDLE: a single patch on in the middle

- ALTERNATING: every other patch on

- RANDOM: patches on at random, the number of which may be selected with the RANDOM-DENSITY slider, as a percentage of the total number of patches.

- ON-COLOR and OFF-COLOR allow you to select colors to represent the two patch states.

THINGS TO NOTICE
The '%' monitor indicates the percent of patches in each world that are turned on, which is also tracked in the plot. The 'min%' and 'max%' monitors display the lowest and highest percentage of patches turned on in any world, respectively. These changes are also recorded in the output box, so as to have not only the current value but a record of all changes in the value (see Activity under 'THINGS TO TRY' below).
THINGS TO TRY

Try setting up the model from different initial states, and with different 'random' densities (including 0% and 100%). See what happens when you change the width or height of the world.

Activity: Try choosing a non-random initial state and allowing it to run for a few thousand ticks. Copy the output from the output box into a text file, reset the model, and run it again. Compare the results from the second run with those from the first- is it deterministic? Now try changing the width of the world and comparing results- do you still get the same values? Does it work with a random setup? What if you change the random setup density between runs?

EXTENDING THE MODEL
The model can be easily adjusted to run any of the 256 basic ca rules by editing the 'true' and 'false' settings in the 'do-rule' procedure under the 'Procedures' tab.
NETLOGO FEATURES
NetLogo could have a native 'scroll' feature, although it would probably have to be flexible to work in different situations.
RELATED MODELS
This model was inspired and informed by NetLogo's CA 1D Elementary model.

 

Models created using NetLogo.

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