The Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient computer like device that calculates the position of the moon and the five visible planets. Discovered at the site of an ancient ship wreck, the mechanism is one of the best extant examples of ancient ingenuity and shows how well the heavenly bodies were understood at the time of the machine's invention.
Aristotle was the first to record the use of gears for transferring motion and Archimedes took this principal to a whole new level when he used gears to model the position of the sun and moon in a
mechanism similar to that found off the island of
Antikythera. At first sight, the mechanism is hardly recognizable. It looks like a small corroded piece of copper with a few gear teeth protruding from the top. Most of the pictures of the mechanism make it appear larger than it really is. The entire mechanism can be held easily in one hand.
For me, the mechanism is most interesting for the understanding it gives into ancient engineering. Much of what we know about the mechanism was discovered under the surface of the corroded outer gears using x-ray imaging. Even so, there is still some speculation about certain parts of the machine's operation.
Based on the x-ray images, a pretty accurate replica can be created.
Several individuals have made working models based on the Antikathera design. Below is a 3-D model of the mechanism and a working replica of the mechanism based on our current knowledge of the machine.
Over all, the mechanism shows how much ancient technical communities understood about science. Not only was the inventor skilled in the mechanical design of gear systems, he must also have understood the complicated math used to model the elliptical motion of the moon and stars, as well as the actual astronomical movement of the moon and visible planets. Considering the lack of machining facilities, modern computers, and the challenge of disseminating technical information in the ancient world, this device is truly a treasure of ancient interdisciplinary engineering.
- Andrew and Andre'
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