blank tape halting problem
blank tape halting problem
[¦blaŋk ′tāp ′hȯl·tiŋ ‚präb·ləm] (computer science)
The problem of finding an algorithm that, for any Turing machine, decides whether the machine eventually stops if it started on an empty tape; it has been proved that no such algorithm exists.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.