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The Antikythera Mechanism Credit & License: Wikipedia |
Explanation: What is it? It was found at the bottom of the sea aboard
an ancient Greek ship. Its seeming complexity has prompted decades of study,
although some of its functions remained unknown.
X-ray images
of the device have confirmed the nature of the
Antikythera mechanism, and
discovered several surprising functions. The
Antikythera
mechanism has been
discovered to be a mechanical
computer of an accuracy thought
impossible in 80 BC, when
the ship that carried it
sank. Such
sophisticated technology
was not thought to be developed by humanity for another 1,000 years. Its
wheels and
gears create a portable
orrery of the sky that predicted
star and planet locations as well as
lunar and
solar eclipses. The
Antikythera mechanism,
shown
above, is 33 centimeters high and therefore similar in size to a large book. Credit:
APOD/NASA
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