Scientists Move Closer to Understanding the Antikythera Mechanism

originally posted by: tri-lobe-1
Clickspring is a pleasure to watch... a very talented fellow.
He makes his own files and drill with drill bits as per the traditional Greek methods of the time.
every thing is as per the original ways of working metal...hand filed gear teeth...think about it.
one does not whip one up of these in a week.a reply to: strongfp

Nice avatar.Methinks it is an ionic impeller...just a guess.

a reply to: reject

I was under the impression it's an astronomical calendar.

It is but it accurately shows the phases of the Moon and positions of the planets which for a civilization without optics is no mean feat , the calculations that went into the gearing alone is mind boggling not to mention fitting in all together so it works , 2000 year old ingenuity at work right there.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: reject

I was under the impression it's an astronomical calendar.

It is but it accurately shows the phases of the Moon and positions of the planets which for a civilization without optics is no mean feat , the calculations that went into the gearing alone is mind boggling not to mention fitting in all together so it works , 2000 year old ingenuity at work right there.

The Greeks knew how to do that for hundreds of years before this device was built.
As you said, the gearing of the mechanism is the amazing part.
However, the Greeks had automatic dramas before this - short dramatic shows with no actors at all that ran on weighted ropes that were wrapped around cylinders with pegs for rope turnarounds.
Sort of lets you know they knew what they were doing.

Harte

a reply to: tri-lobe-1

I'm glad I found his channel a while back. Sit back with a beer and enjoy the show. I have worked around CNC machines, small lathes, etc for a while now, it's nice to watch someone do it all manually.

originally posted by: tri-lobe-1
Clickspring is a pleasure to watch... a very talented fellow.
He makes his own files and drill with drill bits as per the traditional Greek methods of the time.
every thing is as per the original ways of working metal...hand filed gear teeth...think about it.
one does not whip one up of these in a week.a reply to: strongfp

Actually, at least in those vids. he doesn't
I saw drill presses, milling machines lathes and no hand filing of any gear tooth.
Admittedly, I only watched him make one set of gear teeth. Maybe he did some later ones by hand.

Harte

a reply to: one4all

Sorry so long on the reply I'm on a phone and it diesnt let me know.

I agree totally there is no way there is only one of these unless it was built by an Atlantean survivor or an alien that got stranded.

Neither are likely this had to be an item that had multiple productions it's just a matter of finding an intact one.

That’s awesome!! I’m going to jump down this rabbit hole head first.

On the topic of making cool things, I made a shelf out of wood for a TV in my garage. It’s really neat. Not as neat as this, but still pretty neat.

Ok. Back to the rabbit hole.

you only have to look at his website...oh lazy one who loiters under a bridge .a reply to: Harte

How useful was it as a navigation tool. Columbus didn't have anything that complex and did fine. The device looks like overkill. More of a complex high dollar toy.

originally posted by: Stupidsecrets
How useful was it as a navigation tool. Columbus didn't have anything that complex and did fine. The device looks like overkill. More of a complex high dollar toy.

Columbus used celestial navigation, which is basically using the moon, sun, and stars to determine your position. Other tools that were used by Columbus for navigational purposes were the compass, hourglass, astrolabe, and quadrant. So he essentially had more tools available than the Antikythera mechanism offered alone.

originally posted by: tri-lobe-1
you only have to look at his website...oh lazy one who loiters under a bridge .a reply to: Harte

No thanks.
Perhaps you didn't notice that I was actually referring to the linked video series?
Can't blame you though. After all, it's not as if I said something like "Actually, at least in those vids. he doesn't," right?

Oh. Wait.

Harte

originally posted by: peter vlar

originally posted by: Stupidsecrets
How useful was it as a navigation tool. Columbus didn't have anything that complex and did fine. The device looks like overkill. More of a complex high dollar toy.

Columbus used celestial navigation, which is basically using the moon, sun, and stars to determine your position. Other tools that were used by Columbus for navigational purposes were the compass, hourglass, astrolabe, and quadrant. So he essentially had more tools available than the Antikythera mechanism offered alone.

You can't use the Antikythera mechanism for navigation.

Harte