■BEYOND SCIENCE
Ancient Computer Baffles
Scientists: Antikythera Mechanism Made in 150
BC
The Antikythera Mechanism is a
2000-year-old mechanical device used to calculate the positions of
the sun, moon, planets, and even the dates of the ancient Olympic
Games.
A replica of what the Antikythera Mechanism
may have looked like thousands of years ago.
The other side of the Antikythera Mechanism
replica
By Tara
Macisaac
Epoch Times Staff
The universe is full of mysteries that challenge our current
knowledge. In "Beyond Science", Epoch Times collects stories about
these strange phenomena to stimulate the imagination and open up
previously undreamed of possibilities. Are they true? You
decide.
Scientists had to see the Antikythera Mechanism to believe it
could exist. It would have been preposterous to claim the Ancient
Greeks could make a device so advanced without the artefact to
prove it.
Mathematician Tony Freeth is one of many scientists
from various fields to study this mysterious hunk of corroded
bronze found in an ancient Roman shipwreck. "If it hadn't been
discovered... no one would possibly believe that it could exist
because it's so sophisticated," said Freeth in a NOVA documentary
on the mechanism.
The size of a modern laptop, the Antikythera
Mechanism was made by the ancient Greeks, though it was found on a
Roman ship. It could calculate astronomical changes with
precision.
Though it was discovered in 1901, it wasn't until
the 21st century that modern scanning tools allowed researchers to
penetrate the corrosion. They discovered intricate and complex
interlocking gears and other mechanical parts. Inscriptions on the
mechanism serve as an instruction manual.
By studying the number of teeth on the gears, along
with the numbers listed on the inscribed instructions and
astronomical cycles from antiquity, scientists confirmed that the
mechanism could calculate the astronomical changes.
Historian of sciences Yanis Bitsakis said the
inscriptions match the style and language of the time, 150 BC
Bitsakis commented on the mechanism in a short video clip released
by the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and Tourism in
conjunction with watchmaker Hublot and filmmaker Philippe
Nicolet.
Researchers made a model of how the computer may
have looked when it was in use thousands of years ago.
The device had two sides. On one side, a dial
included the 365 days of the Egyptian solar calendar as well as the
12 signs of the zodiac. Turning a crank on the side allowed the
user to move the dial to a given day and see the exact position of
the sun and moon as well as the phase of the moon on that day.
A dial on the back showed the metonic cycle of the
moon, a period of about 19 years, and another showed eclipses of
the sun and moon. It is also thought to have traced the paths of
some planets.
Mathias Buttet, director of research and
development for watch-maker Hublot, recreated the antique object in
a modern form, incorporating it into a wrist watch.
He said in the video clip that "[this) Antikythera
Mechanism includes ingenious features which are not found in modern
watch-making".
Epoch Times, Technology & Science, July 4-17 Pg 19