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.