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Analog Computer 150 BC

The Antikythera mechanism was an ancient Greek analog computer discovered in a shipwreck dating back to around 150 BC. It is considered the earliest known example of an analog computer and was used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. The device used a system of interlocking gears and dials to model the movements of the sun, moon and planets. Despite being over 2,000 years old, it was remarkably advanced for its time and incorporated features like a four-year leap year calendar that was not introduced in the region until later. While its exact purpose remains unknown, it provided a portable teaching tool for astronomy. Researchers continue to study the mechanism to reveal more of its secrets.

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74 views2 pages

Analog Computer 150 BC

The Antikythera mechanism was an ancient Greek analog computer discovered in a shipwreck dating back to around 150 BC. It is considered the earliest known example of an analog computer and was used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. The device used a system of interlocking gears and dials to model the movements of the sun, moon and planets. Despite being over 2,000 years old, it was remarkably advanced for its time and incorporated features like a four-year leap year calendar that was not introduced in the region until later. While its exact purpose remains unknown, it provided a portable teaching tool for astronomy. Researchers continue to study the mechanism to reveal more of its secrets.

Uploaded by

Ruth Angeli Macalalad
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Analog Computer 150 BC

For around 2000 years a shipwreck lay off the coast of the Greek island of
Antikythera, its hidden treasures slowly corroded by the Mediterranean. The sponge
divers found therein a peculiar engineering - although they had no idea how truly
remarkable it was at the time. This Antikythera mechanism has puzzled and intrigued
historians of science and technology since its discovery.

The Antikythera Mechanism called as the “clockwork computer” is also


considered to be the earliest extant mechanical calculator; thus; it is later displayed
at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. It is regarded as the first known
analog computer, had several dials and clock faces that serve important functions in
forecasting and determining certain astronomical event developed by the ancient
Greeks.

The device’s main gear moves to represent the calendar year, and would, in
turn, move separate smaller gears to represent the motions of the planets, sun and
moon.
Although its builder’s identity and what it was doing aboard a ship remain mysteries,
scientists have worked for a century to piece together the mechanism’s history. The
mechanism’s small size, however, does suggest that it was designed with portability
in mind. According to some researchers, a more plausible story is that the
mechanism was used to teach astronomy to those with little knowledge of the
subject.

In order to use the device, simply enter a date using a crank, and, when the
gears stopped spinning, information will appear at your fingertips: the positions of
different celestial bodies, the date of solar eclipses and the speed of the Moon
through the sky.
Perhaps most impressively, the mechanism’s calendar dial could compensate for the
extra quarter-day in the astronomical year by turning the scale back one day every
four years. The Julian calendar, which was the first in the region to include leap
years, was not introduced until decades after the instrument was built.

It is thought that the famous inventor Archimedes of Syracuse constructed the


Antikythera Mechanism. However, there were people who also believed that this
device came from the school of the astronomer Hipparchus. One thing is certain, that
the builder were likely Greek as the written order that are fastened to the instrument.

A replica of the device could also be seen at the American Computer Museum in
Bozeman, Montana. “When Jacques-Yves Cousteau made his last visit to the
shipwreck in 1978, he found no additional pieces.” As the time passed by the device
continues to reveal its secrets to the researchers of the Antikythera Mechanism
Research Project, an international effort supported by various universities and
technology companies.

Sources:

age-of-the-sage.org. (n.d.) Age of the Sage 26 January 2019. Retrieved from


<http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/>.

Allen, M. (2007). Who made it?(Article) January 2019. Retrieved from


<http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/>.

DUENAS, Aira
GONZALES, Anne Katrine
GUCILATAR, Alexius

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