still life

plural still lifes · plural still lives · alternative still-life

1. paintingA work of art depicting an arrangement of inanimate objects.

   Synonyms: nature morte

2. countableusuallycellular automataA pattern that does not change from one generation to the next.

   Thus, a natural question, apparently proposed very early, was whether there exists a still life (i.e. period 1 oscillator) that reflects a glider.

   1996 November 16, Paul Callahan, “Still-life glider reflector found”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)

   2 more examples

   I think you're talking about a configuration known as "eater," a still life in 6-8 cells. If the glider hits the right spot, the eater will form a bridge and destroy the glider while undergoing little change before reverting.

   1992 May 5, Holocaust-->Travesty, “the Hodge Podge machine”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)

   I haven't tested yet, but I expect hlife to win by a very large margin since the puffer train has lots of still life and blinkers to make Gosper's algorithm look good, and hlife's low-level implementation is quite good at handling the more random parts.

   2003 December 12, Tony Finch, “Implementing Conway's Life”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)