Question

g The Enigma machine was used by Germany in World War II to send coded messages. It has gained fame because it was an excellent coding device for its day and because of the ultimately successful efforts of the British (with considerable aid from the Poles) to crack the Enigma code. The breaking of the code involved, among other things, some very good mathematics developed by Alan Turing and others. One part of the machine consisted of three rotors, each containing the letters A through Z. To read an encrypted message, it was necessary to determine the initial settings of the three rotors (e.g., PDX or JJN). This is only the beginning of the problem of deciphering the Enigma code. Other parts of the machine allowed for many more initial settings. How many different initial settings of the three rotors are there

Answer 1

17576

Explanation:

Each of the three rotors contained the letters A through Z.

For the first rotor: There are 26 Possible Initial Settings

(A,B,...Z)

For the second rotor: There are 26 possible initial combination with the first rotor likewise.

For the third rotor:There are also 26 possible combinations with the first and second rotors.

Therefore:

Number of Possible Initial Setting of the three rotor=26*26*26=17576