It s Computer Science Education Week Dec 9, 2020

It s Computer Science Education Week

Are we looking at some sort of steampunk time machine? Not quite, but these clock-like rotors did help alter the course of history. The action took place during World War II at England"s Bletchley Park, a country estate that served as a top-secret facility. An assembled team, including the pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, developed this device, known as a Bombe machine. It was instrumental in cracking the Germans" "uncrackable" Enigma code, which was used for encrypting secret messages in German war operations. The Enigma code was itself generated by a rotor-driven machine that re-scrambled the code each day—so the Bombe mirrored those mechanics to keep up with the changing encryption. Insights the Bombe and other programmable machines provided into enemy military plans helped to speed the Allies" eventual triumph—some even argue that the codebreakers" efforts won the war.

© Louis Berk/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Dec 9, 2018There’s treasure in them thar hills
Dec 9, 2019Let s crack the code
Dec 9, 2021Glowworm caves in Australia
Dec 9, 2022Muskoxen in Dovre-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway
Dec 9, 2023National Llama Day
Dec 9, 2024Llama Day
Dec 9, 2025National Llama Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 3, 2024J.R.R. Tolkien Day
Feb 11, 2019There’s a dog in there somewhere
May 6, 2026Thunderstorm above the plains, Bulgaria
Oct 15, 2025National Mushroom Day
Jan 27, 2020Thomas Edison s bright idea
Jul 19, 2023Crescent Lake near Dunhuang, China
Dec 2, 2020Protecting Alaska
May 21, 2025International Tea Day
Apr 1, 2019Unbearable cuteness
Jun 5, 2021Bird s-eye view on World Environment Day
Sep 26, 2018Art in the chapel
Oct 26, 2021Red fox
May 28, 2022Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park, Australia
Jan 15, 2022To Sua Ocean Trench
Jan 15, 2024Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Jul 14, 2020Under Parisian skies
Oct 12, 2018Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
Nov 6, 2024Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
Dec 3, 2023Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
May 29, 2020It s Bermuda s big day
Mar 8, 2024International Womens Day
May 13, 2024Fish River Canyon, Namibia
Mar 28, 2024Cherry blossoms in Shanghai, China
Jan 6, 2019A winter wonderland in Northeast China
May 2, 2019Making it work—in Norway
Jul 17, 2019Nomads of the Gobi
Jan 12, 2020The Zugspitze: Germany s highest point
May 3, 2021It s Teacher Appreciation Week
Dec 12, 2025National Poinsettia Day
Sep 15, 2023National Hispanic Heritage Month