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Rule 54


ElementaryCARule54

Rule 54 is one of the elementary cellular automaton rules introduced by Stephen Wolfram in 1983 (Wolfram 1983, 2002). It specifies the next color in a cell, depending on its color and its immediate neighbors. Its rule outcomes are encoded in the binary representation 54=00110110_2. This rule is illustrated above together with the evolution of a single black cell it produces after 15 steps (Wolfram 2002, p. 55). Rule 54 is conjectured, but not proven, to be universal.

Starting with a single black cell, successive generations n=0, 1, ... are given by interpreting the numbers 1, 7, 17, 119, 273, 1911, 4369, 30583, ... (OEIS A118108) in binary, namely 1, 111, 10001, 1110111, 100010001, ... (OEIS A118109). The decimal value of the nth iteration is given in closed form by

 a(n)={7/(15)(4^(n+1)-1)   for n odd; 1/(15)(4^(n+2)-1)   for n even
(1)

(E. W. Weisstein, Apr. 13, 2006), so computation of rule 54 is computationally reducible for an initial configuration consisting of a single black cell. a(n) has generating function

 (7x+1)/((x-1)(x+1)(4x-1)(4x+1)).
(2)

Rule 54 is amphichiral, and its complement is rule 147.


See also

Elementary Cellular Automaton, Rule 30, Rule 50, Rule 60, Rule 62, Rule 90, Rule 94, Rule 102, Rule 110, Rule 126, Rule 150, Rule 158, Rule 182, Rule 188, Rule 190, Rule 220, Rule 222, Rule 250

Related Wolfram sites

http://atlas.wolfram.com/01/01/54/

Explore with Wolfram|Alpha

References

Sloane, N. J. A. Sequences A118108 and A118109 in "The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences."Wolfram, S. "Statistical Mechanics of Cellular Automata." Rev. Mod. Phys. 55, 601-644, 1983.Wolfram, S. A New Kind of Science. Champaign, IL: Wolfram Media, pp. 55, 90, and 952, 2002.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Rule 54

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Rule 54." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Rule54.html

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