The Polish Cyclometer
A Virtual Talk by Jerry McCarthy
In the mid-to-late 1930s, Polish mathematicians created a number of methodologies to decrypt messages sent using the 3-rotor Enigma.
This talk will:
Explain the considerable variety of known Enigma machines. Enigma is not just A Machine; it’s an entire family!
Provide an introduction to cryptography starting at the Caesar Cipher and ending on focussing on the operation of one particular common Enigma machine variant.
Discuss some of the Polish methodologies for cracking that machine, and finally focus on the Cyclometer/Cyklometr created by Polish mathematicians; this was a device which took advantage of some of the behaviour of the 3-rotor Enigma, and for which the speaker has developed a working model using a mixture of ancient and modern techniques.
A basic prototype will be described, and the subsequent working model will be demonstrated and explained in some detail.
