Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.

For Students · Elementary CA

Elementary CA for an ecosystem

Built for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition. Simulate an ecosystem live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.

Elementary Cellular AutomataLive

Wolfram's 256 rules

Controls

Presets

Rule number

Random initial row

Each cell's next state depends only on itself and its two neighbors, giving 256 possible rules. Rule 30 is chaotic (used as a random generator); Rule 110 is proven Turing-complete; Rule 90 draws a Sierpinski triangle.

▶ Run in Python

Data Inspector

Rule30

Binary00011110

Classcomplex

Governing equation

s_{i}^{'} = f (s_{i - 1}, s_{i}, s_{i + 1}), rule = 30

Reading this result: Rule 30 is chaotic: from a single seed it never settles into a pattern, which is why its center column is used as a random-number generator.

Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.

or unlock everything with Pro →

Also for:Researchers Educators Engineers Hobbyists & Makers K-12 Students First Responders General version →

More with Elementary CA

Elementary CA for a traffic jam Elementary CA for a bird flock Elementary CA for a forest fire Elementary CA for a crowd evacuation Elementary CA for an ant colony Elementary CA for a rumor spreading Elementary CA for a market bubble Elementary CA for a power-grid cascade

Frequently asked questions

Is this good for students?: Yes — this version of "Elementary CA for an ecosystem" is framed for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition.
Do I need to install anything?: No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.