Antikythera Mechanism: The ancient 'computer' that simply shouldn't exist - BBC REEL
Summary
TLDRThe Antikythera Mechanism, discovered in a shipwreck off Greece, revolutionized our understanding of ancient technology. This 2000-year-old device, once considered a corroded lump, revealed intricate gears and inscriptions, indicating its use as a sophisticated astronomical calculator. The mechanism, which predicted celestial positions and eclipses, has led experts to rethink the history of technology, suggesting a more advanced ancient world. Modern x-ray technology has unveiled its secrets, and the quest for similar devices continues, highlighting the non-linear progression of technological development.
Takeaways
- 😲 The Antikythera Mechanism, discovered in a shipwreck off Antikythera, Greece, revolutionized our understanding of ancient technology.
- 🔍 Initially dismissed as a corroded lump, the mechanism was later found to contain precision gear wheels, challenging the notion that ancient Greeks didn't have such technology.
- 🌐 This 2000-year-old device is a complex astronomical calculator, predicting the positions of celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and planets.
- 🤔 The purpose of creating such a sophisticated machine by the ancient Greeks remains a mystery, but it suggests a high level of scientific and mechanical understanding.
- 🔧 The mechanism's advanced features, like predicting eclipses and lunar phases, indicate a significant leap in the history of science and technology.
- 🧩 The device is fragmented into 82 pieces, with much of it missing, yet modern technology, including 3D X-ray, has helped uncover its secrets.
- 📜 Recent X-ray analysis revealed inscriptions that act as a user guide, offering insights into the mechanism's operation and the ancient Greek cosmos.
- 🛠️ The Antikythera Mechanism's discovery has prompted a reevaluation of the history of technology, pushing back the timeline of technological advancement.
- 🌟 Theoretical and physical models of the mechanism are being recreated using ancient Greek techniques, potentially revealing further secrets.
- 🚀 The potential for other similar devices exists, with shipwrecks in the Mediterranean offering hope for future discoveries.
- ⏳ The story of the Antikythera Mechanism highlights the non-linear nature of technological development, with periods of progress followed by loss and rediscovery.
Q & A
What was the initial reaction to the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism?
-The initial reaction was astonishment and disbelief, as the discovery led to a complete rethinking of the history of technology, especially considering the sophistication of the device in ancient Greece.
Where was the Antikythera mechanism discovered and what was its initial appearance?
-The Antikythera mechanism was discovered off the tiny island of Antikythera in Greece by sponge divers. Initially, it appeared as a corroded lump about the size of a large dictionary.
What was the significance of the gear wheels found inside the Antikythera mechanism?
-The gear wheels were significant because they indicated a level of technological sophistication that was not expected from ancient Greece, challenging the conventional understanding of the era's technological capabilities.
What is the primary function of the Antikythera mechanism?
-The Antikythera mechanism is a dedicated calculating machine that uses bronze gear wheels to calculate the cycles of the cosmos, including the positions of the sun, moon, and planets against the stars.
How did the ancient Greeks use the Antikythera mechanism?
-The ancient Greeks likely used the Antikythera mechanism to calculate and predict astronomical positions and events, such as the position of the moon in five years, by turning a handle.
What technological advancements have been used to study the Antikythera mechanism in recent decades?
-Modern technology such as 3D X-ray technology has been used to study the Antikythera mechanism, revealing its internal gear wheels and inscriptions that were previously hidden.
What new insights were gained from the 3D X-ray analysis of the Antikythera mechanism?
-The 3D X-ray analysis revealed all the gear wheels in three dimensions, new inscriptions, and a user guide hidden within the corroded bronze, providing a wealth of new information about the mechanism's operation.
What did the inscriptions on the Antikythera mechanism reveal about its functionality?
-The inscriptions, written in ancient Greek, provided detailed instructions on how the mechanism worked, including its ability to predict eclipses and track the variable motion of the moon.
How has the understanding of the Antikythera mechanism influenced the perception of the history of technology?
-The discovery and analysis of the Antikythera mechanism have forced a reevaluation of the history of technology, suggesting that the Greeks had a more advanced technological capability than previously thought.
What are the prospects of finding another device like the Antikythera mechanism?
-There is hope of finding another device like the Antikythera mechanism, possibly through the exploration of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, as diving technology advances and allows for deeper exploration.
What broader implications does the Antikythera mechanism have for our understanding of technological development?
-The Antikythera mechanism suggests that the history of technological development is not linear and that there have been periods of advancement followed by loss and遗忘, challenging the assumption that technology always progresses steadily.
Outlines
😲 The Antikythera Mechanism: Rethinking Ancient Technology
The Antikythera Mechanism, discovered in a shipwreck off the island of Antikythera in Greece, has revolutionized our understanding of ancient technology. Initially dismissed as a corroded lump, the device was later found to contain precision gears, challenging the belief that gear wheels did not exist in ancient Greece. This sophisticated machine, dating back 2000 years, is a dedicated calculator that models astronomical cycles, predicting the positions of celestial bodies. Its discovery has led experts to reconsider the history of technology, as it demonstrates the ancient Greeks' ability to mechanize scientific theories. Despite much of the device being missing, modern technology, particularly 3D X-ray imaging, has unveiled new inscriptions and secrets, revealing it as a user guide for the cosmos, predicting eclipses and lunar motions. The Antikythera Mechanism stands as a testament to an advanced technological past that was once thought to be beyond the capabilities of the ancient world.
🌟 The Legacy and Future of the Antikythera Mechanism
The impact of the Antikythera Mechanism extends beyond its initial discovery, as it prompts a reevaluation of the history of technological advancement. The device's intricate design and functionality suggest that there may have been similar, yet undiscovered, technological marvels from the ancient world. The possibility of finding more such mechanisms lies in the exploration of shipwrecks, especially with the advancement of deep-sea diving technology. The story of the Antikythera Mechanism teaches us that the progression of technology is not linear but rather marked by periods of rapid development and subsequent decline or loss. It challenges the modern assumption of continuous technological progress, illustrating that the history of our technological world is far more complex and nuanced than previously believed. The ongoing study and replication of the Antikythera Mechanism using ancient Greek techniques, along with the potential for new discoveries, hold the promise of further insights into our technological heritage.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Antikythera Mechanism
💡Astronomical Theories
💡Gear Wheels
💡Cosmos
💡X-ray Technology
💡Inscriptions
💡Mechanization
💡Shipwreck
💡Archaeologists
💡3D X-ray
💡Calendrical
Highlights
The Antikythera mechanism, discovered 120 years ago, has forced a complete rethink of the history of technology.
The mechanism is an extraordinarily sophisticated machine from ancient Greece, challenging historical understanding.
Initially dismissed as a corroded lump, the Antikythera mechanism was later found to contain precision gears.
The discovery of gear wheels in 1902 was shocking, as ancient Greek technology was not expected to include such components.
The Antikythera mechanism is a dedicated calculating machine, predicting astronomical positions.
The mechanism could calculate the position of celestial bodies up to ten years in advance.
The creation of the Antikythera mechanism raises questions about the ancient Greeks' technological capabilities.
Modern technology, including 3D X-ray, has significantly advanced understanding of the Antikythera mechanism.
X-ray data revealed new inscriptions, offering a user guide within the corroded bronze.
The Antikythera mechanism predicted eclipses and followed the variable notion of the moon.
The mechanism's inscriptions in ancient Greek provide insights into its operation.
The Antikythera mechanism displayed the ancient Greek cosmos in a ring system.
The discovery has prompted a reevaluation of the history of technology, suggesting an earlier and more sophisticated technological era.
Arthur C. Clarke suggested that if the ancient Greeks had fully understood their technology, they might have reached the moon within 300 years.
Researchers are building a physical model of the Antikythera mechanism using ancient Greek techniques.
Shipwrecks may hold the key to discovering more devices like the Antikythera Mechanism.
The history of technological development is not linear and can be lost and forgotten, as suggested by the Antikythera Mechanism.
Transcripts
When we first looked at the results, it was astonishing.
We've had to rethink the history of technology completely as a result of this single object.
It's such a clever, extraordinarily sophisticated machine, completely. Completely shocking for
ancient Greece.
120 years ago, sponge divers discovered a shipwreck off the tiny island of Antikythera
in Greece, and what they found changed our understanding of human history forever.
Among the treasure trove were marble statues, elegant vases,
glistening jewelry and ancient coins and what looked to be a hunk of corroded metal that
no one knew quite what to do with.
It was not recognised at all as being anything interesting when it was discovered, it was
just a corroded lump about the size of a large dictionary.
But when in 1902, it was discovered that there were gear wheels inside it, everyone suddenly
got rather excited.
This is the first shock because anything from ancient Greece simply shouldn't have gear
wheels.
These were precision gears with teeth about a millimetre long.
And this was just completely, completely shocking.
And the Antikythera mechanism has captured the imagination of archaeologists, mathematicians
and scientists ever since.
It's a dedicated, calculating machine and it uses bronze gear wheels to calculate the
cycles of the cosmos - the cosmos being the sun, the moon, the planets against the stars
and wind it forward 10 years and you can know where the sun and the moon is going to be,
where the planets are.
But the question of why the ancient Greeks created such a device has plagued experts
since its discovery.
I think it was conceived as a calculating machine that would calculate the theories
they had.
They had astronomical theories but could calculate those at the turn of a
handle.
So it would it would demonstrate how you could look ahead, say: 'What's the position of the
moon going to be in five years time?'.
You would turn the handle, it would tell you almost immediately. This is a massive step
forward in the history of science and technology.
Something we take for granted now, but in those
days that the idea that your scientific theories could be mechanised, the predictions could
be mechanised was absolutely astonishing.
Now kept in a museum in Greece, the 2000-year-old device is split into 82 fragments and much
of it is missing.
But in the years since this discovery, modern technology has vastly advanced what we know
about the mechanism.
In the 1970s, a team x-rayed the device and the first secrets were revealed, dozens of
cogs hidden within it.
But it wasn't until 3D X-ray technology came along that they could separate these guys
out.
We took an eight ton x-ray machine to Athens, installed it in the museum, and we took x-ray
data of all the 82 surviving fragments of the mechanism.
And when we first looked at the results, it was astonishing because it showed us not only
all the gear wheels in three dimensions so we could separate them, but it showed us all
these new inscrip tions in the fragments as well.
A new world of secrets was revealed, a user guide hidden within the folds of corroded
bronze.
This was a wonderful revelation. Out of that data has come nearly all the breakthroughs
in recent decades, came the discovery that it predicted eclipses, that it followed the
variable notion of the moon.
Previous experts had been able to model the back of the mechanism up until this point.
But these inscriptions helped Tony and his colleagues with their latest model, which
focuses on the front of the device.
There's thousands of text characters in ancient Greek which tell us how it works.
It displayed the ancient Greek cosmos - the sun, moon and planets - in a sort of ring
system. It brought back the history of technology to a much earlier time.
It is completely astonishing that the ancient Greeks firstly had the conception of making
this technology and secondly the ability to actually physically make it.
We've had to rethink the history of technology completely as
a result of this single object.
The great Arthur C. Clarke said if the ancient Greeks had understood the capabilities of
the technology they created, then they would have reached the moon within 300
years, and we'd now been exploring the nearest stars.
Now Tony and his team will take their theoretical model and use ancient Greek techniques to
build a physical model of the mechanism.
And modern technology may reveal more secrets of the ancient world still.
There were certainly, in the ancient world, more devices like the Antikythera Mechanism.
It wasn't unique.
I think the only real hope of finding another machine
like the Antikythera Mechanism is from a shipwreck.
The hopeful thing is there are thousands of shipwrecks down there under the Mediterranean.
Some of them at very deep levels. But the diving technology is advancing so much that
it's becoming possible to explore quite deep wrecks.
To understand the technological world we live in today, we need to understand its history,
what the Antikythera Mechanism tells us is that that history is different than what we
thought, that it started earlier, that it developed in this incredible flourishing of
this sophisticated technology, and then it seemed to go backwards.
We kind of take it for granted, I think, in the modern world that technology will just
keep on advancing.
But throughout history, this hasn't always been the case.
The history of technological development doesn't go in a straight line.
It develops in fits and starts and sometimes gets lost and forgotten.
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