glider

Etymology

From Middle English glider, glydare, equivalent to glide + -er.

noun

1. One who glides.
2. Any heavier-than-air aircraft optimised for unpowered flight; a sailplane.
3. A pilot of glider aircraft.
4. Any animal with the ability to glide, such as the gliding possum.
5. Synonym of glide (“cap affixed to base of legs of furniture”)
   The left drawer runner is probably replaced. Nail holes on the upper surface of the stretchers suggest the piece once had a bottom shelf. Modern metal gliders have been added under the feet. 2007, Frances Gruber Safford, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
6. A kind of garden swing.
   Francine sat in the glider on the porch, swinging lightly, her mind a thousand miles away. The chain squeaked a little, almost like a cricket. 1978, Tom Reamy, Blind Voices, published 2003, page 73
   Then I went into the backyard, which had a flower-covered arbor, a small garden wall, and room behind it for a garden. Swings and gliders adorned the yard. 2011, Mary Biever, He Uses It For Good!, page 5
7. (cellular automata) In the Game of Life, a particular configuration of five cells that recurs periodically at fixed offsets and appears to "walk" across the grid.
   By the way, what happens to a beehive which is under attack by one or two gliders such as pictured: 1989-12-22, Norbert Roestel, “CA-LETTER”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
   I believe it is indeed new -- I've gone back through everything I can find, as far back as the early 90's when Heisenburp devices were first invented, and there don't seem to be any reactions based on a glider suppressing a blinker. 2006-09-28, Dave Greene, “Small Heisenburp device in Conway's Life”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
   In Conway's Life interesting effects can be obtained by colliding gliders. 2008, Derek Abbott, Paul C. W. Davies, Arun Kumar Pati, Quantum Aspects Of Life, page 246
   1. (by extension) Any spaceship in a cellular automaton, especially one which exhibits glide reflection.
      It is a reversible rule, and an interesting one. Shortly after I implemented it, Chris and I were watching it run from a small random configuration of vants, when we noticed a structure consisting of 2 vants propagating away from the others -- it is a glider of sorts, consisting of 2 cooperating vants moving along, erasing each others' trail. 1989-06-11, David Hiebeler, comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
      I wanted to test some totalistic automaton and the glider with the B024S1 rule, which Ilmari Karonen described. 2003-05-13, Frank Buss, “Totalistic Explorer and squirm”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
      By contrast, consider a rule like Seeds (B2/S) that has "gliders" and oscillators and so forth, so theoretically it might support universal computation somehow. 2007-05-12, Dave Greene, “Wanted: 2D CA, "as complex" but "denser" than Life”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
8. A vehicle, of a usually motorised type, without a powertrain.
9. (entomology) Any of various species of dragonfly that glide on out-held wings while flying, such as the common glider, Tramea loewii, of Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Pacific.