Posted on 06/28/2024 11:50:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
New insights into the function of the world's oldest analog computer, the famous Antikythera mechanism, have been made with help from an unlikely source: technology developed for the study of gravitational waves...
Roughly the size of a shoebox, the device features an array of intricately tooled gears that are surprisingly complex for any innovation from the second century BCE. Over the decades, studies of the device have revealed that it likely functioned as a hand-operated computer that would have allowed its operator to predict the arrival of eclipses, as well as calculate the positions of planets over time.
Fast forward to 2020, when X-ray images of one of the device's components, which researchers identify as its calendar ring, unveiled new features that included a series of regularly spaced holes beneath the ring. Given its highly eroded state, the presence of rings could be discerned, although the number remained unclear, with estimates suggesting anywhere between 347 and 467 of the holes having once existed along this damaged portion of the device.
Now, in new research published in the Horological Journal, Glasgow researchers outline their use of a pair of statistical techniques in a new effort to refine the previously estimated number of holes that once existed in this region of the Antikythera mechanism. Applying Bayesian analysis and, notably, new techniques from gravitational wave research, the team determined that the ring likely contained 354 holes.
This is significant since the 354 holes on the device would have perfectly aligned with the Greek lunar calendar, as opposed to the Egyptian calendar's 365 holes. Based on the new analysis, the presence of 354 holes is hundreds of times more probable than the previously considered 360-hole count.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedebrief.org ...
The Antikythera mechanism was recovered from a shipwreck in 1901.Credit: Wikimedia Commons
There is no such thing as a gravitational wave.
>> There is no such thing as a gravitational wave.
you’re gonna have a hard time convincing those that pay attention to the tide
So, a calendar...
Well, a calendar that can predict the motion of the sun, moon and planets. 200 years before Christ.
The link in post 2 is pretty interesting and goes into a lot of detail in why the device was important. Lots of people back then referred to the technology, and it is believed that many of these devices were made and used back then. For some reason I always thought this was such a mysterious thing and that it was one-of-a-kind.
and that it was one-of-a-kind.
I did too, especially since no more have been found.
I call my analogy bicycle a motorcycle.
I call my analog bicycle a motorcycle.
one of a kind
—
Metal object from swords and shields to various devices were routinely melted down for their metallic value as stone constructions were also repurposed.
A relatively specialized device would have only a few copies made for those that could afford them. That one still exists is a miracle, not an oddity.
BCE - Gee, let me think what could have possibly happened to go from BCE to CE...what single earth shattering event could have happened? My mind is blank...can’t figure it out..
๐
“BCE - Gee, let me think what could have possibly happened to go from BCE to CE...what single earth shattering event could have happened? My mind is blank...canโt figure it out..”
I’ve been trying to figure out whether this mechanism distinguished between BCE and CE when it told you what the date was.
It canโt be a one-off. There had to be some sort of technological history leading to this device.
So, do you call variations in gravity, caused by dense objects, Gravitational Yo-Yo-ing?
Being that there was never a year zero, but only a zero point on the timeline, This Guy has wondered, was Christ born on December 25 (the seventh day prior to the zero point) or twelve months later?
The prior being what would logically be referred to as 1 B.C., and the latter, 1 A.D.
Once again: There is/was no year zero.
The timeline, if drawn out, would have the two noted years butting up against each other on opposite sides of the zero point.
(This also means that the year 2000 was not only the last year of the twentieth century, but also the last year of the second millennium. Sorry, Prince of 1999 fame!)
TRS-80?
Yes, but I don't see why there isn't routine use of decimals, such as ".5 CE" etc...Humankind being so obsessed with pinpoint accuracy.
Hi
Just between you and me, there were 360 holes, not 354.
Glasgow can send me a thank you by FReepmail. Oh and $2000 fee for solving the problem.
5.56mm
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