Computer and Control Chapter: Ancient Computer NOVA HD

Ancient Computer is an episode of Nova starring Mike Edmunds, Tony Freeth, and Panagiotis Tselekas. The arms and faces of ancient statuary litter the seabed at the site of a shipwreck off the coast of Greece. But that’s not the most interesting find. Encrusted with over 2,000 years of mineral deposits are highly engineered gears clearly visible as part of a mysterious device dating back to about 50 BCE. Using X-ray technology and working off of the realization that the gears’ teeth are prime numbers relating to astronomy, the device is revealed to be the earliest known computer used for predicting eclipses and demonstrating planetary motion.

An ancient analog computer designed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. It was recovered in 1900–01 from the Antikythera wreck, a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. The instrument has been designed and constructed by Greek scientists and dated between 150 to 100 BC. Technological artifacts approaching its complexity and workmanship did not appear again until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks began to be built in Western Europe.

Agenda:
Ancient Computer NOVA HD (VIDEO)

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States, 01201, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/295953