How the image is constructed

Cellular Automata are grid based formations defined by a "Rule" that determines the identity of each element. While it is entirely possible to generate Cellular Automata manually using tools as simple as a pencil and graph paper, a computer can produce them far more efficiently. In the examples that follow, a formation will be be produced in an operation similar to placing rows of tiles in a pattern.

In this example the first row drawn is predefined to have a single blue square in the center. The row length is a variable, here it's 9. In the rows that follow, the identity of each component, whether blue or white, will be determined by the identity of the three components in the row immediately above it.

To begin the next row the computer now chooses the color of the first open cell (marked with an X), by checking the color of the 3 cells immediately above it, above-left, and above-right.
*The first and last cells of each row are always white.

	X

The Rule for this situation specifies blue if the upper 3 are white, so the cell marked "X" will become blue.

Finished

Since our Rule allows no option other than blue for any situation, all the remaining cells in row 2 will be blue as well. If we were to create a third row it would be identical to the second row. Things get more interesting once you start changing the Rule to make white an option.

Binary Numbers

The state of the Rule can be expressed as a binary number. If we let blue be represented by 0, and white by 1, the Rule as show above would produce the binary number 00000000, which is equivalent to the more familiar decimal number 0.

This simple set of conditions yields 256 possible combinations. A small percentage produce a chaotic result.