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For Educators · Elementary CA

Elementary CA for a firefly sync

Built for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs. Simulate a firefly sync 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.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this good for educators?: Yes — this version of "Elementary CA for a firefly sync" is framed for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs.
Do I need to install anything?: No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.