YouTuber helps researchers solve the mystery of a 2,000-year-old 'computer'

Thu, 07/04/2024 - 20:09

antikythera mechanism — A fragment of the 2,200-year-old Antikythera Mechanism, believed to be the earliest surviving mechanical computing device, is seen at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis

Researchers think they've solved the 2,200-year-old mystery of the Antikythera mechanism.
The ancient device, found in a shipwreck, likely followed a Greek lunar calendar.
They used statistical modeling techniques typically used to study ripples in space-time.

Last year, Graham Woan knew just how he wanted to spend his Christmas break: trying to solve the 2,200-year-old mystery of the oldest known "computer" in the world.

Known as the Antikythera mechanism, the bronze device is a mechanical computer with interlocking gears. In the second century BCE, a user would have used its rings and evenly spaced holes to chart future celestial events, such as eclipses.