An ancient astronomical calculator made at the end of the 2nd
century BC was amazingly accurate and more complex than any instrument
for the next 1,000 years, scientists said on Wednesday.The
Antikythera Mechanism is the earliest known device to contain an
intricate set of gear wheels. It was retrieved from a shipwreck off the
Greek island of Antikythera in 1901 but until now what it was used for
has been a mystery. Although the remains are fragmented in 82
brass pieces, scientists from Britain, Greece and the United States
have reconstructed a model of it using high-resolution X-ray
tomography. They believe their findings could force a rethink of the technological potential of the ancient Greeks. "It
could be described as the first known calculator," said Professor Mike
Edmunds, a professor of astrophysics at Cardiff University in Wales. Read the rest of the article here
The
Antikythera Mechanism was able to align the number of lunar months with
years and display where the sun and the moon were in the zodiac.
9:28:35 PM 
|
