Minecraft wiki entry for Piston, associated text: Triple extenders and so forth are possible, but involve more complex circuitry. As more pistons are added to the circuit, the logic becomes more complex. In an ideal circuit the extension and retraction of the pistons are governed by the number of pistons, denoted P. Then, the time to extend the pistons equals P ticks. The time to retract the pistons equals 3P-2 ticks. This relationship is linear, and implies that the time for the circuit to execute goes up proportionately with the number of pistons. This relationship is achieved by moving multiple pistons per tick rather than only one at time. This relationship applies to both horizontal and vertical extenders.