Turing machine

Alan Turing presents the notion of a universal machine, later called the Turing machine, capable of computing anything that is computable. The central concept of the modern computer was based on his ideas.

Benedict Cumberbatch may be the star of The Imitation Game, but the film's truly central figure is the code-breaking computer Christopher.

A Turing machine.

When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing.

The device, in complete original condition, was built in 1943 and seized by the Allies before it could be destroyed by the Germans. It was sold at Sotheby's in London for £94,000.

Theory of Computation. The course covers machine models and languages defined by Finite State Machines, Context-Free Languages, and Turing Machines.

Enigma code breaking machine used during WW2.

A week ahead of the Science Museum's Alan Turing exhibition - 'Codebreaker' - Matilda Battersby speaks to his old assistant and his nephew to find out what drove one of Britain's greatest men and looks at the machines that helped make his name.