 Pocket Calculator Of The Time
This is an astounding example of the advancements of technology in ancient times.The device is remarkable for the level of miniaturization & the technological complexity of its parts, flawless manufacturing of its time 2000 years ago which is comparable to that of 19th-century clocks. 'Imagine tossing a top-notch laptop into the sea, leaving scientists from a foreign culture to scratch their heads over its corroded remains centuries later'. Antikythera Mechanism
The antikythera mechanism is currently housed in the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens & is thought to be one of the most complicated antiques in existence. At the beginning of the 20th century, divers off the island of Antikythera came across this clocklike mechanism, which is thought to be at least 2,000 years old, in the wreckage of a cargo ship.
The device was very thin & made of bronze. It was mounted in a wooden frame & had more than 2,000 characters inscribed all over it. Though nearly 95 percent of these have been deciphered by experts, there has not been a publication of the full text of the inscription.
Today it is believed that this instrument was a kind of mechanical analog computer used to calculate the movements of stars & planets in astronomy. It has been estimated that the antikythera mechanism was built around 87 B.C & was lost in 76 B.C. No one has any idea about why or how it came to be on that ill-fated cargo ship. The ship was Roman though the antikythera mechanism was developed in Greece. One theory suggests that the reason it came to be on the Roman ship could be because the instrument was among the spoils of war garnered by then Roman emperor Julius Caesar.
X-rays of the device have indicated that there are at least 30 different gears present in it. British historian Derek Price has done extensive research on what the antikythera mechanism may have been used for. It was not until 1959 that Price put forth the theory that the device was used in astronomy to make calculations & predictions. In 1974, Price presented a model of how the antikythera mechanism might have functioned. When past or future dates were entered into the device it calculated the astronomical information related to the Sun, Moon, & other planets.
Some of these findings have been confirmed by more recent researches undertaken by scholars & scientists. However, the full extent of the instrument’s functions still remains unknown. Price had also suggested that the antikythera mechanism might have been on public display in a museum or a public hall. Some others have also come up with their variants of the ancient computer, based on Price’s model. Australians Allan Bromley & Frank Percival devised one such model as did Michael Wright, curator of mechanical engineering at the Science Museum, London. Experts: Fragments an Ancient Computer Antikythera mechanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Last edited by SUVE; 05-14-2012 at 11:19 PM.
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