Scientists have revealed the secrets of the “world’s oldest computer,” which can predict eclipses, moon phases and planetary positions.

Even the ancient Greeks had a “computer” capable of predicting eclipses, lunar phases and planetary positions, the Antikythera Mechanism, whose statistical methods for gravitational waves have been analysed by a research group led by the University of Glasgow (UK), revealing some of the secrets of its amazing mechanism.

The ancient Greeks were able to predict eclipses, lunar phases, and the position of the sun and the five planets known at that time, thanks to…Antikythera machine“The World’s Oldest Computer” Now a Research Group Led byUniversity of Glasgow (United Kingdom) analyzed the artifact using statistical methods Gravitational wavesAnd reveal some of his secrets Great mechanism.

Scientists used statistical modeling techniques developed to analyze gravitational waves to determine the likely number of holes in one of the broken links of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient artifact shown in the film.Indiana Jones and the Quarter Fate‘.

The results suggest that a component of the alien tool may have been used. greek lunar year drawing It also provides a new insight into the exceptional craftsmanship of the ancient Greeks.

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The mechanism was discovered in 1901 by divers exploring a sunken wreck near the island. Antikythera Although it was shattered into fragments and corroded, it clearly contained a complex series of gears from Unusually complex workmanship.

Decades of subsequent research and analysis have shown that the mechanism goes back to 2nd century BC. And it kind of worked Manual mechanical computerExternal discs connected to internal gears allowed users to predict eclipses and calculate the astronomical positions of planets on a given date using Unprecedented accuracy than any other known contemporary device.

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In 2020, a new preliminary analysis put the number at between 347 and 367.

But now a big step forward has been taken, thanks to two statistical analysis techniques used for gravitational waves, which show that it is more likely that the ring existed. 354 holesCorresponding to the lunar calendar, versus 365, a number that corresponds to the Egyptian calendar.

Subsequent analysis confirmed not only that the ring likely contained 354 or 355 holes in a radius of 77.1 mm, with an uncertainty of about 1/3 mm, but also that these holes were It is laid out with extraordinary precisionwith an average radial variation of only 0.028 mm between each hole.

We hope that our discoveries of the Antikythera Mechanism, while less naturalistic than those of Indiana Jones, will help deepen our understanding of how this extraordinary device was made and used by the Greeks.

It ends Graham Wonmco-author of the study

The work was published on Watches Magazine.

sources: University of Glasgow / Watches Magazine

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