You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
A Turing machine is a theoretical model of computation invented by Alan Turing in 1936. It is the most powerful abstract model of computation and forms the foundation of theoretical Computer Science. The OCR H446 specification requires understanding of how Turing machines work and their significance.
A Turing machine consists of:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Tape | An infinite strip divided into cells, each containing a symbol (or blank) |
| Read/write head | A pointer that reads and writes symbols on the tape, one cell at a time |
| State register | Stores the current state of the machine (one of a finite set of states) |
| Transition function | A set of rules that determine what to do based on the current state and the symbol under the head |
At each step, the Turing machine:
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.