User:AnonymousJohn0

I should have an intro here, but I'm too lazy. :P

Redstone Theory
I am developing a theory about how exactly Redstone works. Here are my notes:

The Theory

 * 1) Every block is either charged or uncharged (on or off, 1 or 0, true or false, however you want to think of it). Blocks carry a non-charge unless given a charge by another block.
 * 2) Normal blocks do not spread charges. The only things currently that spread charges are Redstone wires.
 * 3) A charge can spread only 15 blocks from its source, be it a redstone torch or a switch. These are currently the only sources of charges.
 * 4) Wires will take their charge from either another connected wire, the block they rest on, or a source adjacent to them.
 * 5) Wires spread charges. They give it to all adjacent blocks they point toward and to the block on which they rest.
 * 6) Torches act as sources of charge. They spread their charge to all blocks adjacent to them except for the block they are attached to. *
 * 7) Torches negate and spread charges. They get their charge by inverting the charge of the block they are attached to.
 * 8) Switches (levers, buttons, pressure plates) act as sources of charge. They spread this charge to the block beneath them and any wire horizontally adjacent to them.

The Explanation
Before I even explain the theory, there is one thing you need to understand: wires and torches are both blocks themselves, and occupy exactly one block of space. When I refer to the block beneath a wire/torch, that means the block directly under the block being occupied by the wire/torch. The same applies to blocks adjacent to the wire/torch. It is referring to all blocks adjacent to the block the wire/torch occupies.


 * 1. Every block is either charged or non-charged. Blocks carry a non-charge unless given a charge by another block.

A charge is basically electricity. In Minecraft, this is an all or nothing system. No worrying about variables like current or power or voltage. There either is electricity, or there isn't. Everything in Minecraft can carry electricity.


 * 2. Normal blocks do not spread charges. The only things currently that spread charges are Redstone wires.

In Minecraft, electricity can be held by anything, but only wires are conductive.


 * 3. A charge can spread only 15 blocks from its source.

A source is defined as the origin of the charge. In otherwords, wire A may get its charge from wire B, but wire B is not the source of the charge. The source is all the way back to either a Redstone torch or a switch. Non-charges (off) do not spread, because there is nothing to spread in the first place. Therefore you can have a hundred-block-long wire that is off and it'd be perfectly fine, but when you apply a charge to one end, it only makes it 15 blocks before the charge stops. The other 85 blocks are still off.


 * 4. Wires will take their charge from either another connected wire, the block they rest on, or a block adjacent to them.

One thing to note about this is that charges take precidence over non-charges. This means that if a wire has multiple other wires attached to it (most have at least two), if at least one is charged, it will be charged as well. It will only be uncharged if there are no charged wires around it and the block beneath it is not charged, or if it is more than 15 blocks from the source of a charge.


 * 5. Wires spread charges. They give it to all adjacent blocks they point toward and to the block on which they rest.

Wires only give charges to blocks they point toward, but their point can be altered by adding more wires around them. This changes the direction the wire points. They also give charge to the block they rest on. [[Media:AnonymousJohn_Theory.png|This photo]] demonstrates this. In the top picture, the torch is on because there is nothing giving charge to the block it resides on. In the bottom picture, the wire is giving its charge to the block beneath it, thereby turning off the torch.


 * 6. Torches act as sources of charge. They spread their charge to all blocks adjacent to them except for the block they are attached to. *

An interesting note about torches is that they also spread charges upwards. This is very useful when you need to transfer a charge vertically.


 * 7. Torches negate and spread charges. They get their charge by inverting the charge of the block they are attached to.

Torches take the charge of the block they are attached to (you can see this visually as the block the stick is attached to) and negate it (charge -> non-charge, non-charge -> charge). This is an important function because it allows for logic gates to exist. It also makes it possible to send signals beyond the normal 15 block limit because non-charges can "spread" infinitely (you do need to make sure that the normally non-charged wire is short enough to carry a charge along its full length, though). Using a string of NOT gates (which are a simple block and torch combination), the wire can effectively travel as far as you want it to.


 * 8. Switches (levers, buttons, pressure plates) act as sources of charge. They spread this charge to the block beneath them and any wire horizontally adjacent to them.

This is pretty self-explanatory by now, althought it is important to note that they don't always spread charges. They, too, are either charged or non-charged. A non-charged source does not spread.

The Exceptions
Currently I can think of only one exception: torches don't seem to spread their charge to blocks horizontally adjacent to them; only wires gain a charge when horizontally adjacent to a torch. The same applies to blocks beneath the torch. They don't gain a charge from a torch directly above them, but wires do. They DO give charges to blocks directly above them, however. Why this is I'm not entirely sure yet. It is a problem I need to work out. For an example of this exception, look at [[Media:AnonymousJohn_TheoryHole.png|this ingame photo]].

One other interesting thing to note is that sometimes a wire will take there charge from a block horizontally adjacent to them, and sometimes they won't.

Photographic Proof
I will now include photo evidence of these rules in play. Well, as soon as I get the evidence. xD I'm working on it!