1966: Alan Turing's Machines | Mathematics in Action | BBC Archive

Schools programme. What are the ultimate limits to what a computer can do? Oddly enough, this question was answered as long ago as 1936, years before the first computer began to work, by the English mathematician, Alan Turing. Computer scientist Benedict Nixon demonstrates how even a sophisticated modern supercomputer - like the Atlas computer at London University - operates according to the guiding principles of Alan Turing's theoretical computer. Nixon has built his own variation of some simple Turning Machines, for the purposes of demonstration. Clip taken from Mathematics in Action, originally broadcast on BBC One, 24 March, 1966. You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults. Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?... You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive