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Cellular Automata

Cellular automata (CA) are a class of spatially and temporally discrete, deterministic mathematical systems characterized by local interaction and an inherently parallel form of evolution. First introduced by von Neumann in the early 1950s to act as simple models of biological selfreproduction, CA are prototypical models for complex systems and processes consisting of a large number of identical, simple, locally interacting components. The study of these systems has generated great interest over the years because of their ability to generate a rich spectrum of very complex patterns of behavior out of sets of relatively simple underlying rules. Moreover, they appear to capture many essential features of complex self-organizing cooperative behavior observed in real systems. Although much of the theoretical work with CA has been confined to mathematics and computer science, there have been numerous applications to physics, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and geology, among other disciplines. Some specific examples of phenomena that have been modeled by CA include fluid and chemical turbulence, plant growth and the dendritic growth of crystals, ecological theory, DNA evolution, the propagation of infectious diseases, urban social dynamics, forest fires, and patterns of electrical activity in neural networks. CA have also been used as discrete versions of partial differential equations in one or more spatial variables.

Web Resources On Cellular Automata

http://www.cna.org/isaac/Glossb.htm

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