Latest news with #NationalUniversityofMardelPlata
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
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism May Actually Be a Toy, Study Says
Thought to be more than 2,000 years old, the Antikythera mechanism is widely considered the first computer in history, an analog calculator that was way ahead of its time… or was it? A new study suggests the device may simply have been an elaborate toy. Researchers from the National University of Mar del Plata in Argentina discovered that the configuration of the gears and teeth indicates the mechanism isn't functional. The Antikythera mechanism was thought to have been used by the ancient Greeks to calculate the movements of the Sun, Moon, and other planets, as well as eclipses. Only a fragment of it survived, but experts have been trying to imagine the rest of it since its discovery in a shipwreck in 1901. This latest study builds on previous work by Cardiff University astrophysicist Mike Edmunds, which looked at the shape of the mechanism's gear teeth and the manufacturing errors that may have been introduced as the mechanism was made. "Under our assumptions, the errors identified by Edmunds exceed the tolerable limits required to prevent failures," write the researchers. "Consequently, either the mechanism never functioned or its actual errors were smaller than those reported by Edmunds." What's new here is the way that calculations on both gear teeth and possible errors – including variations in the spacing of the teeth and evidence of variations in gear rotation – are combined together for a more comprehensive simulated model of the device. Whereas previously there had been some indications that the mechanism may not have been entirely accurate in its celestial mapping – perhaps as much due to the limited understanding of the cosmos as the mechanism itself – here the suggestion is that the device wouldn't really have functioned. "Our model revealed numerous instances of gear jamming and disengagement caused by both the random and systematic distribution of the teeth," write the researchers. There are plenty of caveats here, and the researchers themselves admit their work is "speculative" in parts. Only fragments of the mechanism remain, fragments that were battered and eroded underwater for many centuries, so there's a lot of educated guesswork going on. Nevertheless, it's enough to call into question whether the Antikythera mechanism was actually a work of genius or just an ornate decoration. Future studies will now be able to build on these findings. "This analysis suggests that we must be cautious in assuming that our measurements of the fragments perfectly reflect their original values," write the researchers. "Instead, it highlights the need for further research and the possible development of more refined techniques to better understand the true accuracy and functionality of the Antikythera mechanism." The research has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a journal, but is available on the preprint server arXiv. 'Neuromyths' Distort Our Concept of The Human Brain, Study Finds Our Relationships With Indoor Plants Come in 4 Types, Study Finds Study of 616 Languages Identified Which Had Most Words For 'Snow'
