Latest news with #AntikytheraMechanism
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Mystery of the 'Dial of Destiny' is SOLVED after 2,000 years: Scientists finally uncover the true use for the ancient device that inspired Indiana Jones
It served as the inspiration for the 'Dial of Destiny' in the final Indiana Jones movie. And now scientists believe they may have finally solved the mystery of the Antikythera Mechanism. Dating back more than 2,000 years, the mysterious ancient Greek device is generally considered the oldest computer in history. Some scientists describe it as the most complex piece of engineering to have survived from the ancient world. Others say it was a hand-powered mechanical device used to predict the positions of the sun, moon and the planets. Such is its level of sophistication that alien enthusiasts have even made wild suggestions that it could be evidence of extraterrestrials passing on knowledge to ancient human civilisations. But a new study suggests an alternative theory for the Antikythera Mechanism. Researchers from the National University of Mar del Plata in Argentina now theorize that it was more of a toy than a working computer. In 1901, divers looking for sponges off the coast of the Greek island, Antikythera, discovered a mechanical device among the ruins of a sunken ship. The mysterious object made of bronze was dated to the late second or early first century BC, and from that time on there has been much debate in the scientific community regarding its purpose. Unfortunately, the shoebox-sized device had broken into fragments and eroded, contributing to uncertainties and farfetched theories surrounding its original purpose. Since only one of this type has ever been found, some have suggested it had an otherworldly origin – a gift from a faraway planet. But the common assumption, based on decades of research and analysis, is that the so-called Antikythera Mechanism functioned as a kind of hand-operated mechanical computer. Consisting of up to 40 bronze cogs and gears, it allowed the ancient Greeks to predict the movement of the stars and planets with stunning accuracy. A user would turn a small hand crank – now lost – which would drive a system of about 40 or more interior cogs and gears. On the front, pointers showed where the sun and moon were in the sky, and there was a display of the phase of the moon. Fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek analog computer that is believed to be used to help teach Greeks about our place in the cosmos What was the Antikythera Mechanism? Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient Greek artefact found in a shipwreck at the start of the 20th century. The mechanical device was used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena, experts say. It had several interlinked indicators, driven by a system of gears, which displayed the positions of the moon and the Sun (and likely the planets) within the zodiac, the date according to the Egyptian calendar, and a Greek lunisolar calendar, as well as details of upcoming solar and lunar eclipses. For this new study, scientists at National University of Mar del Plata created a computer simulation of the artefact. In particular, they looked at the gears' triangular interlocking 'teeth', said to be integral to the mechanism's operation. They found that manufacturing inaccuracies would have caused the device to jam so often it would have been unusable. Such jamming, caused by the turning of the crank handle, would have made the device impractical for scientific use. Based on what we know of its shape, 'manufacturing inaccuracies significantly increase the likelihood of gear jamming or disengagement', the team point out. Meanwhile the triangular shape of the teeth 'results in non-uniform motion, causing acceleration and deceleration as each tooth engages'. The research pair conclude by suggesting that if the device jammed all the time, it might not have been anything more than a clever toy, made for a child. However, they point out how much time and effort must have gone into making the device, and the craftsmanship that was involved. 'It seems unlikely that someone would build such a complex yet non-functional device,' the team add. It's worth noting that only about a third of the Antikythera Mechanism has survived, so some crucial parts of the device are likely lost. Therefore. the device must have been more reliably made than their simulation shows (they stress their 'results must be interpreted with caution'). Either way, the team call for 'more refined techniques to better understand the true accuracy and functionality of the Antikythera Mechanism'. Previously, British astrophysicist Mike Edmunds concluded that the primary purpose of the Antikythera Mechanism was more of an educational display than a tool for making practical and precise astronomical predictions. The team agree: 'Under our assumptions, the errors identified by Edmunds exceed the tolerable limits required to prevent failures.' The study has been published on the preprint server arXiv, meaning it's yet to be peer reviewed. What is the Antikythera Mechanism? The Mechanism was recovered in 1900 from the Antikythera wreck - a Roman cargo shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. It was discovered in a wooden box measuring 13 inchesx7 inchesx3.5 inches (340×180×90mm) and consists of bronze dials, gears and cogs. A further 81 fragments have since been found containing a total of 40 hand-cut bronze gears. The mechanism is said to have been created in around 100BC, and is believed to be the world's oldest calculator. Previous studies have shown that it was used to chart the movement of planets and the passing of days and years. Scans of the mechanism in 2008 found that it may also have been used to predict eclipses, and record important events in the Greek calendar, such as the Olympic Games. Astronomer Professor Mike Edmunds of Cardiff University said at the time: 'It is more complex than any other known device for the next 1,000 years.' The scans also revealed the mechanism was originally housed in a rectangular wooden frame with two doors, covered in instructions for its use. At the front was a single dial showing the Greek zodiac and an Egyptian calendar. On the back were two further dials displaying information about lunar cycles and eclipses. The calculator would have been driven by a hand crank. The mechanism recorded several important astronomical cycles known to the Babylonians hundreds of years before that help predict eclipses. These include the Saros cycle - a period of around 18 years separating the return of the moon, Earth and sun to the same relative positions. The device could track the movements of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - the only planets known at the time, the position of the sun, and the location and phases of the moon. The researchers have been able to read all the month names on a 19-year calendar on the back of the mechanism. The month names are Corinthian - suggest that it may have been built in the Corinthian colonies in north-western Greece or Syracuse in Sicily. The device was created at a time when the Romans had gained control of much of Greece.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Was the Antikythera Mechanism just a janky toy? New study of its triangular teeth offers a clue.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The mysterious Antikythera Mechanism may not have been a cryptic celestial measuring device, but just a toy prone to constant jamming. And the secret to its true purpose, according to new research, is its triangle-shaped teeth. Discovered in a shipwreck in 1901, the Antikythera Mechanism has remained an enigma for more than a century. Several years ago, CT scans suggested that the 2,000-year-old device was an astronomical tool. Consisting of a hand crank, many interlocking gears and various indicators, the Mechanism could seemingly perform many tasks. These include giving the date according to the Egyptian and Greek calendars, displaying the positions of the sun, moon and planets within the zodiac, and predicting future lunar and solar eclipses. But was celestial measurement really the purpose of this fascinating device? Was it meant to be a powerful computer, or a simple toy? And was it a one-off, made for a wealthy patron, or just one example of a mass-produced tool? For decades, researchers have attempted to understand how accurate the Mechanism is, as that would help resolve its intended purpose. If it wasn't very accurate, for example, then it might have been a toy or an educational model. But if it was incredibly precise, it might have been used by court astrologers to make forecasts and horoscopes. Related: Antikythera mechanism, world's oldest computer, followed Greek lunar calendar Unfortunately, the Antikythera Mechanism spent more than two millennia buried at the bottom of the sea, and an unknown amount of time functioning before that. Its gears are highly corroded, and many parts are missing. In the new study, submitted April 1 to the preprint server arXiv, Argentinian scientists created a computer simulation that replicated the Antikythera Mechanism's movements. This simulation incorporated errors from the imprecise nature of its manufacture, where the gears didn't have exact spacing between them. Crucially, unlike previous efforts to recreate the Mechanism, the researchers also included an accurate model of the Mechanism's triangle-shaped gear teeth, which affect how well gears interlock with one another, and how well the indicators point to the intended astronomical target. From this model, the researchers found that the Mechanism wasn't very useful at all. It could only be cranked to about four months into the future before it inevitably jammed, or its gears simply disengaged. The user would then have had to reset everything to get it going again — similar to trying to fix a modern printer. Considering that the indicators marking the date cover an entire year, this jamming problem seems unfortunate. One possibility is that the Antikythera Mechanism was a fancy toy that was never intended to be fully accurate, or that it came with an instruction manual that required users to reset it after a few turns — much like a mechanical watch whose mainspring must be occasionally adjusted by hand. But given the obvious craftmanship that went into creating such a complex device, the researchers don't believe that the Mechanism was just a janky toy. After all, if it was never intended to be accurate, detailed or forward-looking, why bother putting in all that hard work in the first place? RELATED STORIES —1,600-year-old Roman padlock with spring mechanism discovered in Germany — and it's tiny —Phaistos Disk: 3,000-year-old inscriptions from Crete that have never been deciphered —32 haunting shipwrecks from the ancient world Another possibility, which the researchers think is more likely, is that current measurements of the gears and teeth are off. CT scans can only provide a certain level of resolution, and two thousand years of corrosion may have warped or distorted the components far beyond their original state. The Mechanism's original creators may have made it precise enough to avoid jamming and still provide reliable predictions for years into the future. Either way, the Antikythera Mechanism represents the apex of ancient engineering expertise. And despite modern technology and tools such as CT scans, its ultimate purpose may stay forever mysterious.
