ptpuffer.zip

This archive is a collection of c/2 puffers and related objects found in
Conway's Game of Life.  They are the result of running incomplete c/2
spaceships for a number of generations and examining the results.
Most times the reaction at the trailing edge either overtakes the front,
destroying the ship, or fizzles out to leave a shorter base period ship.
However, every so often the reaction settles down, resulting in a puffer
or a higher period spaceship.  This archive contains those results and
some derivatives.

The files are in RLE format and should readable by most Life viewing
programs.  Each file is named according to the type and period of the
object(s) it contains (e.g. s028 contains period 28 spaceships, p016 
contains period 16 puffers).

Some puffers that have common puffing mechanisms have been separated
into different files. Those files suffixed by '-lp', for example,
contain line puffers. The width of these patterns can be extended
indefinitely (although not every width will necessarily be stable),
giving different periods and/or outputs at different widths. Other
files with suffixes like '-bh8' and 'pi14' denote puffers containing
engines which produce small, active objects at high frequency.
Interactions between the exhaust of two or more of these engines
result in different period puffers.

A few of the puffers were found by me for the first time.  Many had
already been discovered earlier by others.  Having only incomplete
attribution information I have included none here. The purpose of this
archive is not to provide a historical record of who found what, nor to
list every puffer ever found, but to present the results of my searches
in a form which I hope fellow Life enthusiasts may find useful or
interesting.

Enjoy.

--
Paul Tooke
paultooke@hotmail.com
4th November 2003 
