Antikythera Mechanism: Mysterious 2,100-year-old Computer May Have Been Used to Predict the Future (+Video)

Antikythera Mechanism: Mysterious 2,100-year-old Computer May Have Been Used to Predict the Future

The Antikythera Mechanism is one of the most fascinating and important archaeological discoveries ever made, one that reveals the remarkable technological and engineering capacities of the ancient Greeks as well as their excellent grasp of astronomy.

Discovered in an ancient shipwreck near Crete in 1901, the freakishly advanced Antikythera Mechanism has been called the world’s first computer. A decades-long investigation into the 2,100 year-old-device is shedding new light onto this mysterious device, including the revelation that it may have been used for more than just astronomy.

This clock-like assembly of bronze gears and displays was used to predict lunar and solar eclipses, along with the positions of the sun, moon, and planets. It wasn’t programmable in the modern sense, but it’s considered the world’s first analog computer. Dating to around 60 BC, nothing quite like it would appear for another millennium.

Since its discovery at the bottom of the Mediterranean, scientists have sought to understand its purpose. No user manual exists, but more than a dozen pieces of classical literature make mention of similar devices. Scientists are having to figure it out by looking at it, both inside and out.

 Gizmodo
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/zuttzv8

smithsonian.com
Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer
http://tinyurl.com/kwqlmys

Clips, images credit: ESO, ESA/HUBBLE, NASA & Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press