Windows > Educational Software > Science > Five Cellular Automata

From Hermetic Systems

A cellular automaton consists of:

(a) A structure of cells, such as the squares on a chess board.
(b) A set of values or "states" such that each cell is associated with a particular state.
(c) A set of rules describing how one state of the system (a particular configuration of cells in specific states) is to be transformed or converted to another state of the system.

This is software for exploring five cellular automata, as follows:

1. An extended version of Conway's Life, called q-state Life.

2. A simulation of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction in which, beginning from a random state of the system, spirals and curlicues "spontaneously" emerge.

3. A process called Togetherness in which cells with random states move so as to maximize the number of neighbors of each cell in the same state as that cell (or, thought of in another way, in which the cells rearrange themselves so as to form maximal clusters of cells all having the same state).

4. Viral Replication, a simulation of a population of dividing cells subject to viral infection.

5. Diffusion-Limited Aggregation, illustrating a process in which particles diffuse (moving randomly) and aggregate to form a fractal structure.

The documentation provides a complete description of the algorithms used.

What's new is version 8.12? Now fully Windows 8 compatible

'Hermetic Systems' is the business name of Peter Meyer, [email protected], the developer of this software, and the owner and maintainer of the 'Hermetic Systems' website. The 'Five Cellular Automata' software ("the Software") consists of the executable file and the other files installed by the installation program pca_setup.exe obtainable from the 'Hermetic Systems' website (including any future versions). The Software is protected by copyright, which is owned by Hermetic Systems. The Software may be downloaded from the 'Hermetic Systems' website or another authorized download site solely for the purpose of its evaluation with regard to the purchase of a user license. Neither the installation program nor any work derived from it may be distributed further by any means (including...