A Turing machine is a mathematical model of computation that defines an abstract machine that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite the model's simplicity, given any computer algorithm, a Turing machine capable of simulating that algorithm's logic can be constructed.
Invented in 1936 by Alan Turing, who called it an "a-machine" (automatic machine).
A fundamental concept in the theory of computation, forming the basis for the modern computer.