Langton's ant

Langton's Ant is like a game where we have a black and white grid. We have an ant that moves around on this grid. When the ant is on a white square, it turns right 90 degrees and then moves forward one step. When the ant is on a black square, it turns left 90 degrees and then moves forward one step. Every time the ant moves, it flips the color of the square it was on.

Let’s say we have an ant on a grid which has all white squares. The ant will start moving forward and following the rules of turning right and left. When it reaches the first black square, it will turn left 90 degrees and move forward. This will make the square it was on white. Then, it will reach another black square, and again turn left and move forward. This cycle will continue, and after some time, we'll see the ant creating a trail-like pattern. This pattern will keep getting bigger and more complex as the ant keeps moving around.

Even though the rules for the ant's movement are simple, the patterns it creates can be super complex and fascinating! Scientists and mathematicians study these patterns to understand more about how different systems behave and how they can be used for many different things.