The Antikythera Mechanism

[x3n]

"The oldest known computer, a scientific conundrum for more than a century, did not yield its secrets easily. Only after the most recent innovations were employed, including a $500,000 imaging system constructed in situ, was the mystery of its 81 corroded and mineralized components solved.

Its journey began perhaps 2100 years ago, at the height of Roman Republic, and ended on the sea bed near Crete, waiting two millenia to be recovered by a sponge diver in 1902. It originated, perhaps, from the island of Rhodes, renowned in classical times for its automata and mechanical follies. The Antikythera mechanism, however, was more than a toy: the team of scientists behind the expensive new research announced this week that that they'd solved the puzzle of its purpose, confirming that the mechanical computer was designed to track the movements of heavenly bodies, specifically the sun, moon and planets. "


From WIRED:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2006/11/i ... e_ant.html




This is the link to HP Labs' gallery of the mechanism:
http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/ptm/anti ... index.html

[Pete]

Wow, this is pretty cool. It reminds me of the sun-disk that was found in Germany.


Thank you x3n.