Puddles

The Environment

The Puddle contains all the Fishes and all the Plants in the system. The Puddle is also the point of energy creation and destruction for the system. That is, the energy within the Fishes and Plants is closed, neither created or destroyed, but when the energy interacts with the Puddle, it can be created or destroyed.

Energy Destruction

Specifically, energy is destroyed when Fishes move. The energy required to propel the Fish is "absorbed" by the Puddle, and is not reused, and is therefore destroyed.

Energy Creation

Specifically, energy is created when a new Plant is dropped into the Puddle. All plants have the same amount of energy when dropped into the Puddle, and that energy does not have a cause, and is therefore created. The same is true of Fishes added throught the Add Fishes Screen

Plant Count

Because the Puddle defines the point of energy creation and destruction, it exposes the Plant Count attribute to the user. By varying the Plant Count, literally the number of Plants in the Puddle, the user can create a system that is decaying, expanding, or at equilibrium.