Board Thread:Off-Topic Discussion/@comment-45.118.47.129-20170517075321

The Search Engine Google is showing this Doodle for the 115th Anniversary of the Antikythera Mechanism's Discovery.

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analogue computer  and orrery used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendrical and astrological purposes

The Antikythera Mechanism tracked planetary positions, predicted lunar and solar eclipses, and even signaled the next Olympic Games.

It was probably also used for mapping and navigation. A dial on the front combines zodiacal and solar calendars, while dials on the back capture celestial cycles. Computer models based on 3-D tomography have revealed more than 30 sophisticated gears, housed in a wooden and bronze case the size of a shoebox.

All known fragments of the Antikythera mechanism are kept at the National Archaeological Museum, in Athens, along with a number of artistic reconstructions of how the mechanism may have looked.

The mechanism was initially dated around 85 BC, but recent studies suggest it may be even older  . The crank-powered device was way ahead of its time -- its components are as intricate as those of some 18th-century clocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4DiLRdx-ns 