What was the purpose of the Antikythera mechanism?

Antikythera mechanism, ancient Greek mechanical device used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena.

How accurate is the Antikythera mechanism?

Planetary motion in the Antikythera mechanism was accurate to within one degree in 500 years. The mechanism includes hands or pointers for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, all of which are easily visible in the sky, as well as a rotating ball that showed the phases of the moon.

Why was the Antikythera Mechanism lost to history?

The Antikythera Mechanism was lost over 2,200 years ago when the cargo ship carrying it was shipwrecked off the coast of the small Greek Island of Antikythera (which is located between Kythera and Crete). The Mechanism was initially discovered in 1901, when Greek sponge divers found an encrusted greenish lump.

What was the significance of the notch and pin on the Antikythera Mechanism gears?

Both are connected to the 223-tooth gear, which keeps track of the Moon’s orbit. This meant that the pin and slot mechanism was a differential gearing solution designed to compensate for the irregular, elliptical orbit of the Moon around the Earth.

Was the Antikythera Mechanism really the first computer?

The Antikythera mechanism is generally referred to as the first known analogue computer. The quality and complexity of the mechanism’s manufacture suggests that it must have had undiscovered predecessors made during the Hellenistic period.

Has the Antikythera Mechanism been reproduced?

Michael Wright, a former curator at the Science Museum in London, has built a replica of the Antikythera, which works perfectly. That’s right: The Antikythera mechanism is not only the world’s oldest computer, it’s also the world’s first green computer.

What is one reason why researchers are wondering whether the Antikythera Mechanism has a connection to Archimedes?

Below in this study, the features and constructions of the Antikythera ship will be investigated in detail, and the relation between features of this ship and the Antikythera mechanism also will be established.

What is the Antikythera mechanism?

A password will be e-mailed to you. Antikythera mechanism – An Ancient Greek Computer, the artifact which was recovered on May 17, 1901, from the Antikythera shipwreck from the Greek island called Antikythera, which in antiquity was known as Aigila.

What was found on the Ancient Greek island of Antikythera?

This wreck of a Roman cargo ship was found at a depth of 45 metres (148 ft) off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island of Antikythera. The team retrieved numerous large artefacts, including bronze and marble statues, pottery, unique glassware, jewellery, coins, and the mechanism.

Who discovered the Antikythera shipwreck?

Derek J. de Solla Price (1922–1983) with a model of the Antikythera mechanism Captain Dimitrios Kontos (Δημήτριος Κοντός) and a crew of sponge divers from Symi island discovered the Antikythera shipwreck during the spring of 1900, and recovered artefacts during the first expedition with the Hellenic Royal Navy, in 1900–01.

What is the Antikythera sponge divers?

In spring 1900, a party of sponge divers took shelter from a violent Mediterranean storm. When the storm subsided, they dived for sponges in the local waters near the tiny island of Antikythera, between Crete and mainland Greece.