Enlarge / “Exploded” view of the brand new laptop mannequin of the Antikythera mechanism, exhibiting the way it might need labored. (credit score: Tony Freeth)
Scientists have lengthy struggled to resolve the puzzle of the gearing system on the entrance of the so-called Antikythera mechanism—a fragmentary historical Greek astronomical calculator, maybe the earliest instance of a geared gadget. Now, an interdisciplinary group at College Faculty London (UCL) has give you a computational mannequin that reveals a stunning show of the traditional Greek cosmos, based on a brand new paper printed within the journal Scientific Stories. The group is at present constructing a reproduction mechanism, transferring gears and all, utilizing fashionable equipment. You may watch an intensive 11-minute video concerning the mission right here (embedding at present disabled).
“Ours is the primary mannequin that conforms to all of the bodily proof and matches the descriptions within the scientific inscriptions engraved on the mechanism itself,” mentioned lead writer Tony Freeth, a mechanical engineer at UCL. “The Solar, Moon, and planets are displayed in a powerful tour de power of historical Greek brilliance.”
“We imagine that our reconstruction suits all of the proof that scientists have gleaned from the extant stays so far,” co-author Adam Wojcik, a supplies scientist at UCL, advised the Guardian.
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