Without doubt, it is the oldest known analogue computer made with gears and the first known mechanical universe and probably planetarium. The antikythera mechanism and the astrolabes are considered to be the first analogue calculators courtesy of national archaeological museum, athenscostas xenikakis. A detailed 3d inspection is available with two viewing modes. Cad files for the antikythera mechanism the shamblog. The mechanism of antikythera is the oldest, the only and in fact the very best known example of a complex astronomical device, a dedicated analogue astronomical computer, possibly a planetarium, a.
The socalled antikythera youth is just one more magnificent treasure recovered from the ancient shipwreck. Amazingly, the antikythera mechanism is nothing less than a 2000yearold analogue computer of astounding sophistication. Antikythera mechanism simple english wikipedia, the free. A device like the reconstructed antikythera mechanism existed was known 1 in italy around ad 500.
Introduction to how the antikythera mechanism worked. Ancient greek computer came with a user guide live science. Im really surprised at how troublefree the mechanism has been under moreorless daily use. All the gears that need to have locked rotations are keyed and spaced out with spacers, but some of the keys are really small loose pieces and should be changed. It is known19 that it calculated and displayed celestial information, particularly cycles such as the phases of the moon and a lunisolar calendar. The mechanism predicted lunar and solar eclipses based on babylonian arithmeticprogression cycles. The front of the antikythera mechanism shows seven hands sun, moon, five planets and a double ring scale outside. Pdf the antikythera mechanism is an extraordinary 2000 years old astronomical calculator, which was recovered 100 years ago by greek. The kids may not understand the saros, but they love watching the gears turn. The antikythera mechanism is a mechanical calculator.
The antikythera mechanism april 2020 communications of. All thats known for certain is that sometime around 60 b. The lower back dials are a sarosexeligmos system which strongly. A number of gears worked together, much like they do in a mechanical clock. Clarke wrote, though it is more than 2,000 years old, the antikythera mechanism represents a level that our technology did not match until the eighteenth century, and must therefore rank as one of the greatest basic mechanical inventions of all time. The antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical analog computer designed specifically to predict and calculate the positions and movements of stars and planets. Antikythera mechanism, the oldest computer 25 history of machines and mechanisms, doi 10. It is the first device of the human history in which gears are used, with the form that are used in modern applications.
The antikythera mechanism was similar in size to a mantel clock, and bits of wood found on the fragments suggest it was housed in a wooden case. A machine has been made to exhibit the courses of the planets and the causes of eclipses. Ive always had a great interest in astronomy, and i read with great interest recent articles about the antikythera mechanism, which was apparently an ancient orrery or simulator of motions of the heavenly bodies. This model is a interpretation of that machine in order to 3d print it 100% in 3d. It is among the oldest forms of computer, and was designed by greeks in 86 bc. A model of the antikythera mechanism, built by the aristotle university in greece, together with the mechanism of the watch and this film in 3d are featuring in an exhibition about the mechanism. Thanks to hightech scanning, 2,000yearold inscriptions on the antikythera mechanism, an ancient greek computer, can be read more clearly than ever before, revealing more information about the. Reference book on the antikythera mechanism since it features interviews with almost all the people involved with current research, including archaeologists and divers who dive on the shipwreck site. The moon phase anomaly in the antikythera mechanism. The machine, which was constructed circa 80 bc, could represent the motions of most heavenly bodies known in its. It was lost some years after its development, but was recovered in early 1900. While the antikythera mechanism is the only known artifact of its kind, its precise engineering and the fact that similar instruments were described in contemporary writing lend strong support to. Pdf the mechanism of antikythera is the oldest, the only and in fact the very best known example of a complex astronomical device.
The antikythera mechanism used a combination of adhesives, pins, and friction fits as fasteners. Xray analysis was subsequently used to probe the inner structure of the device, the details of the gears. Pdf conclusions from the functional reconstruction of. Resumen en castellano al final for those who doesnt know the antikythera mechanism is an artifact found in 1900 in the coast of the greek antikythera island, once studied it was dated to be from 200 b. The principle which allows the antikythera mechanism to compute astronomical cycles lies in the function of its interlocking gears. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The antikythera mechanism was discovered by greek sponge divers and taken to the national archaeological museum in athens amongst a large array of ancient greek artefacts. The antikythera mechanism was on board a ship otherwise laden with fine bronze and marble sculpture and glassware, which sank within a few years after 70 bc off the island of antikythera, between crete and the greek mainland. The antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical analog computer as opposed to digital computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. The antikythera mechanism had the first known set of scientific dials or scales and was the most complex mechanism until medieval clocks 1,000 years later. It also has an horological section with interviews from keypeople in the watchmaking industry, who seem to agree that this mechanism, although.
Antikythera mechanism for ios this is a working simulation of the ancient greek device dating back two thousand years, accidentally discovered on a shipwreck near the island of antikythera. For example, a gear with 20 teeth interlocked with a 10tooth gear will cause the 10tooth gear to rotate at. An xray radiograph image of the front of the mechanism, clearly showing the cogs, dials and gears that make up this extraordinary example of ancient greek engineering. It was not clear initially what the device was, except that it was clearly a sophisticated mechanism.
But, in general, the articles refer to the scientific, astronomical and historical topics, without emphasis in a detailed description of measures or positions of parts. This is something that ive been trying to find answer to for a while now. We then reconstructed two functional models of the antikythera mechanism and in this paper we. Seiradakis1 aristotle university department of physics laboratory of astronomy gr541 24, thessaloniki, greece email.
After a careful examination of the antikythera mechanism ct scans from amrp, we designed and constructed the mechanical parts that are visible on the scans. Inscriptions in greek cover the external plates of the mechanism, with text varying between 1. Here i explain the mechanisms operation based on its reconstruction in squeak etoys. Where can i find blueprints for the antikythera mechanism. Ancient greek computer had surprising sun tracker wired. The ancient greek astronomical calculating machine, known as the antikythera mechanism, predicted eclipses, based on the 223lunar month saros cycle. A full scale reconstruction of the antikythera mechanism.
The antikythera mechanism is the worlds first analogical computer, used by ancient greeks to chart the movement of the sun, moon and planets, predict lunar and solar eclipses and even signal the. Decoding the antikythera mechanism, published in nature, volume 444, issue 7119, pp. Eclipse prediction on the ancient greek astronomical. The antikythera mechanism is a 2,000yearold computer vox. Hannys voorwerp and the antikythera mechanism arxiv. Hannys voorwerp and the antikythera mechanism similarities, differences and insights. Aristidis vafeiadakiscorbis wirecorbis images it was another storm that led to the recovery of the mysterious mechanism. Decoding the antikythera mechanism, the first computer. And in the debris of that wreck, for nearly 2,000 years, a mechanism that some have called the worlds first analog computer was lost. Antikythera mechanism an unlikely notoriety in popular culture. Reconstructing the antikythera mechanism, by clickspring a video series documenting the reconstruction of the antikythera mechanism in its most authentic form to date, with the intention of. It was an ancient greek analogue computer and orrery.
The model uses no fasteners, and would need a few if printed. It was discovered in 1902 in a shipwreck off the coast of antikythera, greece. The antikythera mechanism is the oldest known advanced scientific instrument. So, a common narrative about the ww2 eastern front goes like this.
A hull plank, bronze spikes and fragments of metal sheathing. Pdf antikythera mechanism, the oldest computer and. The inscriptions support suggestions of mechanical. The history of the most mysterious artifacts from ancient greece kindle edition by charles river editors. The antikythera mechanism diomidis spinellis home page.
The multiplication and division of whole numbers can be processed with gears of varying tooth counts. The antikythera mechanism is a unique greek geared device, con structed around the end of the second century bc. It was recovered in 19001901 from the antikythera wreck,3 but its significance and complexity were not understood until a century later. The worlds oldest astronomical calculator is famous for having intricate gear systems centuries ahead of their time. As a text, the antikythera mechanism is an extremely rare original document that give us critical information about the astronomy and technology of its era. Antikythera mechanism athens, greece atlas obscura.
Revising the eclipse prediction scheme in the antikythera. Mechanism have been preserved at submillimetre scales. The antikythera mechanism is a 2,000yearold computer 115 years ago, divers found a hunk of bronze off a greek island. Our mechanism has been enjoyed by thousands of visitors to our museum over the last three years. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the phaistos disc and antikythera mechanism. The construction of the original model of the antikythera mechanism is placed during the 2nd century b. From previous work 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 it is known that it calculated. The antikythera mechanism is a mechanical astronomical instrument that was discovered in an ancient shipwreck at the beginning of the twentieth century. From the bottom of the sea to the scrutiny of modern technology john h. The device could predict astronomical positions, eclipses, the motions of the sun, the moon and probably some. Antikythera mechanism, ancient greek mechanical device made of bronze and used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena.
Eclipses are indicated on a fourturn spiral saros dial by glyphs, which describe type and time of eclipse and include alphabetical index letters, referring to solar eclipse inscriptions. It is kept in the national archaeological museum in athens. Thorndike, university of puget sound recent scholarship has greatly improved our understanding of the structure and function of the antikythera. From the beginning, i wanted to make a functional 3d model of the antikythera mechanism.