War years and deciphering Enigma

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During his studies, Turing became interested in sports. Long-distance running helps him switch off and take a break from intense intellectual workload. Later, he even tried out for the British Olympic team, but was unable to participate due to injury. The archives contain a photo from 1946, where he is running a marathon.

Alan Turing completes the race
Alan Turing completes the race. Source
The Turing Machine: The Beginning of Computer Science
While still in Cambridge, Alan had the idea of ​​creating a universal computing device. In 1936, the young scientist presented an abstract model that performed any possible mathematical operations. Later, it was called the Turing machine.

Interestingly, the work was based on the binary number system, although at that time the decimal system was predominant. The device consisted of two parts:

an endless tape divided into cells, each of which contains a mathematical symbol;
a head that moves along the tape, reads data and performs specified actions according to strict rules - algorithms.
Turing showed that if a problem can be represented as a series of logical steps, a machine can do it. This idea became the foundation for the development of computer science.

Turing machine operation diagram
Turing machine diagram. Source
In 1938, Alan Turing joined the UK's main encryption malta telegram data unit, which was based at Bletchley Park. A year later, he was appointed head of the Hut 8 group and tasked with breaking the secret of the German Enigma encryption machine.

Germany had been using this device for exchanging messages since 1928. The design was constantly being improved, and by the beginning of World War II, Enigma had become virtually impenetrable. Millions of possible combinations and daily code changes reliably concealed information about the Wehrmacht's plans. To gain an advantage, the Allies of the anti-Hitler coalition joined forces to crack the machine. In 1939, Polish cryptographers provided Great Britain and France with a detailed diagram of Enigma and their developments in deciphering messages.

German Enigma encryption machine