A century ago, sponge divers found a bizarre device, Antikythera mechanism, at the sea bed of Antikythera Island near Greece. The mechanism amazed the researchers of the world. There was a big question mark what it was. Was it a sextant or a planetarium? For many years the secret remained a mystery since its discovery.
There have been many scientific probes to reveal the very nature and purpose of Antikythera mechanism but only hypothetical presumptions could be made. For last fifty years, the aggressive and dynamic research has made it possible to understand the true nature and purpose of the Antikythera mechanism.
The research has revealed that the mechanism dates back to 2nd century B.C. and it is the most intricate apparatus from ancient times. The same complexity cannot be found in any other device that was made even a thousand years after its inception. Now the researchers have come to the conclusion that the mechanism is actually meant for detecting movements of planets in the solar system and we can call it as a complicated computer which finds the cycles of movements of planets.
Previous researches had been parochial based upon simple x-ray analysis but it did provide “ground work” for further research. Now the research venture comprises conglomeration of larger groups with various expertise. Now the project is being worked on by the collaboration of academic researchers with renowned hi-tech companies.
The initial analysis was made by Hewlett-Packard’s scientists who used digital imaging system. This is a state- of- the-art x-ray technology used to read on-the-surface inscriptions of Antikythera Mechanism. It gave many disclosures to research team. Other teams also came to Athens e.g. X-Tek Systems to analyze inner images of the mechanism comprising intricate and puzzling gear trains.
The research has moved forward enough to decipher and interpret two thousand years old inscriptions and it is leading to solve the “jigsaw puzzle” of its functions.
Antikythera
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