Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have uncovered the mystery of an ancient Greek astronomical computer called the Antikythera Mechanism, which is a hand-operated device designed to predict astronomical events such as eclipses. This is reported in an article published in Scientific Reports.
Despite the fact that scientists figured out how the Antikythera Mechanism could predict astronomical events, it remained unclear how the gears in the front of the device, covering fragments A and D, functioned. Only about a third of the mechanism survived, which is scattered into 82 different fragments. degree of preservation.
The Astronomical Calculator is a bronze device made up of a complex combination of 30 surviving bronze gears. In the front, scientists have found mechanisms responsible for the cycles of Venus and Saturn at 462 and 442 years, respectively. Using the ancient Greek mathematical method described by the philosopher Parmenides, scientists were able to figure out how the gears responsible for displaying the cycles in the device were organized.
The Antikythera Mechanism was found in 1901 and is considered the first analog computer in history. The machine, consisting of several dozen gears and dials, was used to calculate the motion of celestial bodies and made it possible to find out the date of 42 astronomical events.