Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Antikythera mechanism -Ancient Greek Computer Reconstructed

http://videos.komando.com/2008/12/17/the-antikythera-mechanism/

ALSO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

This YouTube video shows the answer to an ancient mystery. In 1900, a group of Greek sponge divers found an ancient shipwreck. The ship was filled with amazing treasures. They found jewelry, glassware and marble statues. It was all taken to a museum in Athens, Greece.
But the most important find of initially overlooked. Nobody paid much attention to a lump of corroded rock. That is, until it broke open. Inside were miniature gearwheels, meticulously marked scales and Greek inscriptions.

It was dubbed the Antikythera mechanism. It dates back to 150-100 BC. It’s clockwork gears were far ahead of their time. Such work wouldn’t be seen again for centuries. But what was it used for? Michael Wright created a working model of this 2000-year-old computer. You’ll see it in action in this video.

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