History of Computers - Antikythera Mechanism

Pflam 09:27, 1 September 2009 (CDT)

Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism was a complex calculator used to decide the exact location of the sun, moon, and several other stars, all done by turning a hand crank to a specific position. This mechanism was created somewhere between the years 150 - 100 B.C., possibly by a Greek philosopher astronomer. ^[1]

Original

Reconstruction

The much of the original surviving piece of the device was eroded by salty sea water and changing tides. There are several more reconstructions of this amazing machine, and they can be seen at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana and the Children's Museum of Manhattan in New York and in Kassel, Germany.

Overview

The amazing part is that the Antikythera Mechanism had somewhere between 30 and 72 gears, a very small amount of parts for a machine that is able to do so much. It is based upon the geocentric model of the Earth, and shows the position of other celestial bodies from Earth's perspective. The mechanism is made up of 3 main dials, all of which show a different calender or a set of special dates. It may also have been used to calculate the date of the ancient Greek Olympic Games. The Antikythera Mechanism was found in the wreck of a ship called the Antikythera (hence the name) in 1901. The reason that the machine ended up on the ill-fated cargo ship is still unknown. The ship was Roman; whereas, the mechanism was Greek. ^[2] The significance of the Antikythera Mechanism was unknown until much later.

Significance

The Antikythera Mechanism is known by many as the first analog, or mechanical, computer. A more modern and well known analog computer is the Slide Rule. The Antikythera mechanism is the predecessor to any mechanical computers that came after, and also many types of calendars or devices used to predict dates, times, lunar eclipses, and other astronomical events.