SARATH THARAYIL
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Elementary Cellular Automata

May 12, 2026

Wolfram's elementary cellular automata. One rule number (0–255) governs how each cell evolves. Change the rule, seed the first row, and explore all 256 behaviors.

RULE
00011110
|
TABLE
|
ROWS50

Click cells in the top row to set the seed. Type a rule (0–255) or step with ‹ ›.

/ NOTES
HOW IT WORKS

Every cell looks at itself and its two neighbours — eight possible patterns. The rule number written in binary encodes the output for each. Rule 30 in binary is 00011110.

NOTABLE RULES
Rule 30Apparent randomness from a single cell. Used as a PRNG in Mathematica.
Rule 90Produces the Sierpinski triangle fractal from a single seed.
Rule 110Proven Turing-complete. Universal computation from 1D.
Rule 184Models traffic flow — cars moving right, slowing when blocked.
THE BIGGER IDEA

Wolfram classified all 256 rules into four types: fixed-point, periodic, chaotic, and complex. Only Rule 110 is Turing-complete. Complexity lives at the edge between order and chaos.