Based on the paper Turning Machines: a simple algorithmic model by: W. Lui and Ashutosh Saxena.
The program randomly generates monomer chains. Blocking rule is partially modified from the one in the paper.
- Monomer
A monomer is a small molecule that can be chemically bonded to other identical or similar molecules to form a larger structure called a polymer.
- Turning machine
A turning machine is a monomer configuration (chain) that can 'turn' a certain chain based on a set of specific rules. In this case, I randomly assign a state to each monomer and then turn each monomer by 60 degrees until the state is 0.
You can choose between instant and step modes. The instant mode will just show you the final configuration, while the step mode will show you the configuration turn-by-turn, allowing you to undeerstand how the final configuration is formed.
When in line mode, you'll be able to see the chain interpolated via the Catmull-Rom algorithm. In Monomer mode, you can see the states of each monomer.
Turning Machines: a simple algorithmic model for molecular robotics