A small tagalong for an HWSS that was found by Hartmut
Holzwart in 1992. The resulting spaceship (shown below) has a
phase with only 24 cells, making it in this respect the smallest
known spaceship other than the standard spaceships and some trivial
two-spaceship flotillas derived from them. Note also that an HWSS
can support two sidecars at once.
Game of Life Explanation
The Game of Life is not your typical computer game. It is a cellular
automaton, and was invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway.
This game became widely known when it was mentioned in an article
published by Scientific American in 1970. It consists of a grid of
cells which, based on a few mathematical rules, can live, die or
multiply. Depending on the initial conditions, the cells form various
patterns throughout the course of the game.
Rules
For a space that is populated:
Examples
Each cell with one or no neighbors dies, as if by solitude.
Each cell with four or more neighbors dies, as if by
overpopulation.