WHAT IS IT? ----------- This project depicts a simple cellular automata model
that appears to be a pot of boiling water. Heat is applied evenly to the entire
pot, but when the temperature of a patch reaches the boiling temperature, the
bubble pops and that patch's temperature drops to zero.

If all of a cell's neighbors are at the maximum value of 212, then that cell's
new value will be 213 which gets wrapped down to zero. At the next tick, the
presence of this zero-valued cell will lower the values of the cell's nearest
neighbors. This process is analogous to the way in which a hot enough region of
water gives up some heat by forming a bubble of steam. The water right around the
steam bubble cools off for a moment.

HOW TO USE IT ------------- Click the SETUP button to set up a random field of
heat.

Click the BOIL button to start adding heat to the pot and watch it boil.

THINGS TO NOTICE ---------------- Watch how the added heat diffuses through the
pot. When bubbles pop, the resulting drop in heat affects nearby patches too by
taking away their heat.

What happens to the average heat in the pot?

EXTENDING THE MODEL ------------------- Try diffusing the heat more slowly
through the system.

Change the diffuse parameter from 1 to a smaller fraction.

Add "ice cubes".

Add a heat sink, such as edges that constantly cool the liquid.

CREDITS AND REFERENCES -----------------------

This model is described on page 79 in  "Artificial Life Lab",  by Rudy Rucker,
published in 1993 by Waite Group Press.