The Antikythera Mechanism: A Computer Science Perspective

Author

Spinellis, Diomidis

Author_Institution

Athens Univ. of Econ. & Bus., Athens

Volume

41

Issue

5

fYear

2008

fDate

5/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

22

Lastpage

27

Abstract

Two thousand years separate us from an ancient Greek computing device known as the Antikythera mechanism. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient astronomical calculator that contains a lunisolar calendar, predicts eclipses, and indicates the moon´s position and phase. Its use of multiple dials and interlocking gears eerily foreshadows modern computing concepts from the fields of digital design, programming, and software engineering. In this article, the author explains the mechanism´s operation based on its reconstruction in Squeak Etoys, a multimedia authoring environment primarily designed to help high school students learn scientific and engineering concepts. This paper aims to present the functioning of this remarkable device using working code, the language of our community.

Keywords

astronomical ephemerides; astronomy computing; authoring systems; calculating apparatus; computer aided instruction; multimedia systems; physics education; Antikythera mechanism; Squeak Etoys multimedia authoring environment; ancient Greek computing device; astronomical calculator; computer science perspective; eclipse prediction; interlocking gears; lunisolar calendar; moon phase; moon position; multiple dials; school students; working code; Calendars; Computer science; Economic forecasting; Gears; Image reconstruction; Open source software; Optical imaging; Physics computing; Teeth; X-ray imaging; Antikythera; analog computers; astronomy; control design styles; design patterns; history of computing; processor architectures;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Computer

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9162

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MC.2008.166

Filename

4519931