The answer to the Antikythera mechanism, but we live with the conviction that the biggest leap in the development of science and technology took place no more than two or three decades ago. The fact that our belief may be wrong is evidenced by the presence of the Antikythera mechanism, which the world learned about at the beginning of the 20th century, and which shows that already in ancient times, science and technology were at a very high level.
The discovery took place on May 17, 1902. It was then that the archaeologist Valerios Stais, who was analyzing the artifacts recovered from the Antikythera island a year earlier, noticed that the bronze object, which was originally forgotten and rejected by researchers, contained gears.
The research revealed that the bronze object is part of a mysterious mechanism. Soon they forgot about the find of 1902. It was believed that the object is probably from modern times and is a clock that inexplicably fell to the seabed, where it was found next to valuable finds. On the basis of these conclusions, they stopped further studying the subject.
The subject was revisited by Derek John de Solla Price, a researcher at Yale University, who, after twenty years of painstaking research and a series of X-rays, in 1974 declared that the aforementioned object was taken by the ancient Greeks and served them to determine the position of the Sun and Moon. In addition, he stated that this object was just a part of a whole object, which consisted of 31 large and small gears. Many representatives of the scientific community immediately discarded this theory. They believed that the ancient Greeks were unable to invent such a complex device.
The next researcher to tackle the unusual Antikythera Mechanism was Michael Wright of the Science Museum in London. During his research, he used a CT scanner, which allowed him to get a more accurate picture of the structure of the device. Based on his observations, Wright found that the device not only indicated the positions of the sun and moon, but also the positions of the five planets in the solar system. Unfortunately, the disks that were responsible for determining the location of these celestial bodies have not been found.
The latest research on the mechanism was published in the journal Nature in 2006. They were attended by many distinguished scientists, and the work was carried out under the leadership of two professors, Mike Edmunds and Tony Frith from the University of Cardiff. Detailed examinations were performed using the most modern equipment, including a computer tomograph based on the latest technologies. This device allowed scientists to take a three-dimensional image of the object under study. In the course of the research, the latest computer technologies were also used, with the help of which the inscriptions on the stakes, which contained the names of the planets, were discovered. The latest software helped read almost all of the 2000 characters that were there.
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Reconstruction of the mechanism from Antikythera Island
Based on the study of the shape of the letters, it was established that the Antikythera mechanism was created in the 2nd century BC, and not as previously thought in the 3rd century AD. Detailed information about the subject, obtained during the research, allowed scientists to reconstruct the device.
According to the information received, the car was locked in a wooden box and was behind a couple of doors. Behind the first door was a shield that allowed observing the movement of the Sun and Moon against the background of the zodiac signs. The second door was on the back of the device, and behind them were two shields, one of which was responsible for the interaction of the solar calendar with the lunar calendar, and the second predicted solar and lunar eclipses.
In the far part of the mechanism there should have been wheels (which were gone) responsible for the movement of others, which we learn from the inscriptions made on the object.
The place of origin of the device is believed to be the island of Rhodes. It was from there that a ship sailed, the wreckage of which was found near the island of Antikythera. Additional evidence is the fact that Rhodes was at that time the center of Greek astronomy and mechanics. The invention itself is attributed to Posidonius of Apamea, who, according to Cicero, was responsible for the invention of a device indicating the movement of the Sun, Moon and other planets.
What you see in the first photo is a completely unusual and fantastic mechanism that came to us from such distant antiquity that even Christianity did not exist at that time. Would you like to wear this on your own wrist? Of course, he cannot take photos or connect to Facebook, however, after going through the history of this subject, some writer could create an immortal work like the Count of Monte Cristo.
This story began 2,200 years ago with a great scientist and ended at the time of a shipwreck on the high seas. Jacques Cousteau, the greatest explorer of the depths of our civilization, called this discovery a wealth that surpasses the Mona Lisa in value. It is these recovered artifacts that turn our consciousness upside down and completely change the picture of the world.
In 1900, Captain Dimitrios Kondos returned to Greece from an expedition to North Africa and waited out the bad weather north of Crete in the Mediterranean, near the island of Antikythera. He sent part of his team in search of a sea sponge. One of the team members, Elias Stadiatos, ascended, said that on the seabed, at a depth of 60 meters, he saw a shipwreck and a huge number of horse carcasses, which were at various degrees of decay. The captain decided that Elias was poisoned by carbon dioxide and decided to check everything himself.
When Condos sank to the bottom, an absolutely fantastic picture appeared before his eyes. On the site of the sunken ancient ship, with a huge amount of loot and treasures, there were bronze statues that were covered with a centuries-old layer of marine organisms. It was these statues that the sailor perceived as the corpses of horses. The team collected everything they could carry and returned back to Greece, and from there an expedition was sent to the crash site.
The first signs said that the material raised from the bottom was more than 2,000 years old. Within 2 years, a huge number of marble and bronze Roman statues, coins and other artifacts were brought. When they began to lay out the finds, one of the pieces fell apart, and the scientists saw some metal parts inside.
What did the researchers of that time do? Yes, they just put this find aside, because they decided that such technologies did not exist in 100 BC and that this thing accidentally ended up in an ancient collection. Only in 1951 did the English physicist Derek Price become interested in this. He established that the mechanism dates from the period from 100 to 300 BC. e. and is the most advanced technology of the ancient Greeks.
For 50 years, there has been a painstaking restoration of the ancient machine, consisting of 82 elements! This system is called the Antikythera mechanism. In 2005, Hewlett-Packard decrypted 95% of the inscriptions preserved on the device. With the help of X-Tech equipment, a 3D X-ray scan of each fragment of the machine was made.
It turns out that it was a kind of ancient analog computer. You could set any date and the device showed absolutely accurately the positions of the Sun, Moon and five planets that were known to Greek astronomers. Lunar phases, solar eclipses - everything was predicted to within a few hours, adjusted for leap years.
Scientists assume that only one person of that time was able to turn numbers into a system of screws and gear wheels - the great mathematician Archimedes. Among other things, he was an excellent designer. In Roman history, there is one record of a great scientist stunning the audience by demonstrating a "celestial globe" describing the movement of the planets, the sun and the moon, and predicting solar eclipses with lunar phases.
However, the Antikythera mechanism was made 80 years later than Archimedes died. It is likely that the scientist created a prototype, and only later the first analog computer in the world was reproduced. Although how the ancients managed to build this miracle remains a mystery, since even the first clockwork, created much later, was huge and did not have such a complex and correct device.
Hublot watchmaking is a modified version of Antikythera, made in a more compact form, with the definition of time and astronomical predictions. This unique watch will be presented at Baselworld in 2012 as a tribute to the 22-century history of our civilization.
