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2,100-year-old Bronze and Iron Computer Predicted Eclipses

articles.latimes.com — The Antikythera mechanism, so named because it was found in 1901 in a Roman shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, is thought to have been made about 100 BC. Its purpose was a mystery for more than 100 years, but in 2006, researchers concluded that the device originally contained 37 gears that formed an astronomical computer.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 8, 2009

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  • s3dward, on 07/08/2009, -9/+154Yeah, but can it run Crysis?
  • xngk, on 07/08/2009, -0/+104Loaded with "Windows BC"
  • wannaBdug, on 07/08/2009, -0/+72Not only is it useful, but it would look nice in my living room.
  • atlasdugged, on 07/08/2009, -0/+65Amazing sophistication 100 years BC!!
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -3/+64they could act like they could summon eclipses to manipulate stupid masses of people into thinking they were special?
  • archivedigger, on 07/08/2009, -1/+46I like the layers of science it took to uncover its original purpose. Who would think to use a massive X-ray tomography machine, similar to that used to perform CT scans on humans, to conclude that the device originally contained 37 gears that formed an astronomical computer. Pretty nerdtastic.
  • CrazedLeper, on 07/08/2009, -6/+48Good thing we evolved. Bronze age people sure were stupid. They herded animals, believed the Bible and made computers. Oh wait...
  • stinkybinky, on 07/08/2009, -0/+32it's too bad that meme has died... i kinda liked it.
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -0/+30Working model:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eUibFQKJqI
  • dsarnoLAT, on 07/08/2009, -3/+32And they built a giant metal eclipse-predicting mechanism because.....
  • yesbeegee, on 07/08/2009, -0/+29It's not just history; science tends to repeat itself too.
  • AmyVernon, on 07/08/2009, -3/+31Just ... wow.
  • CrazedLeper, on 07/08/2009, -1/+26Eclipses are cool. That's reason enough.
  • ecoop3r, on 07/08/2009, -0/+25Its a joke about how no machine on earth can run Crysis. If you have ever played it you would understand it is a resource hog.
  • blobrana, on 07/08/2009, -2/+26Sputnik has successfully entered orbit.
  • ArtOverby, on 07/08/2009, -3/+23Time is an abstract concept created by carbon-based life forms to monitor their on-going decay.
  • srchgrrl, on 07/08/2009, -2/+21All of this has happened before, and it shall all happen again...
  • DrDragun, on 07/08/2009, -1/+20If you gave me all the tools in Home Depot and a block of bronze, I couldn't make a device that looks that well crafted. They made this basically with rocks, furnaces, and iron hand tools.
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -0/+17Beep. Beep. Beep. - Leonard Nimoy.
  • palmer, on 07/08/2009, -0/+16The article fails to mention that the device in the picture is NOT the original mechanism. It's a reconstruction. The original looks like a block of coral with a gear or two sticking out of it:

    http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061205.html

  • senorboombino, on 07/08/2009, -6/+21Amazing technology...sure seems to beat the pants off my Windows Vista machine on occasion.
  • janjamm, on 07/08/2009, -2/+16The thing in itself is just beautiful. We think we are such hyper-tech, nerds. It is nice to see that the human mind has been so sophisticated and curious and complex for eons. I would especially like it if they discovered it was designed by a 13 year old.
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -0/+13Excellent service, fast shipping A++!
  • RealmDown, on 07/08/2009, -0/+13Isn't there a maintenance window scheduled for 2012 ?
  • rrlaw, on 07/08/2009, -1/+13The news is slightly dated, but it's always amazing to see the machine. Check out this older digg, there is a video of a working replica:
    http://digg.com/gadgets/World_s_First_Computer_Reb ...
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -2/+14and a lot more personal time then anyone has these days..
  • cygnus2112, on 07/08/2009, -0/+11Yeah, they believed in Mars, the war god.

    Or God of War, on their computers.
  • shininia, on 07/08/2009, -2/+13Did he crush your hopes and dreams or something?
  • AnalogAssassin, on 07/08/2009, -2/+13LOL I consider myself pretty secular but all this BCE crap is a buncha religiophobic tomfoolery.
  • sneakyninjax, on 07/08/2009, -0/+10Liz Lemon's ex-boyfriend on 30 Rock was right. "Technology is cyclical."
  • Pasaris, on 07/08/2009, -0/+10You're an idiot.
  • poopdigger, on 07/08/2009, -0/+9The metalworking tends to be the most impressive to me. The advances in machine technology of the last 300 years make us take flat surfaces, concentric pieces, gears and the like all for granted. Something so delicate and complex like this probably took thousands upon thousands of hours of hammering, filing and forming by hand.

    It's incredible to see how these kinds of inventions were conceived thousands of years ago, and it takes it to a whole other level when they could make it work as well. Leonardo Da Vinci is a good example- he designed countless highly advanced mechanical contraptions and devices far ahead of his time, and yet to produce many required inventions and abilities that took centuries to be realized.
  • LordByr0n, on 07/08/2009, -4/+13**E
  • askantik, on 07/08/2009, -1/+10I prefer BC. It's been in use for many, many decades and there's no good reason to change it to BCE... especially since 0 BCE is still set around the exact same date as 0 BC, so it still means the same thing. People who bicker about it being religious are just whining for the sake of whining.
  • MrFisty, on 07/09/2009, -1/+10Maybe Jesus Crysis.
  • mowgli400, on 07/08/2009, -0/+8haha wow. looks like someone else was watching this on tv too last night. i knew i saw this somewhere else
  • pr0t3st, on 07/08/2009, -0/+8You're telling me.
    http://digg.com/search?s=Antikythera
  • seclife321, on 07/08/2009, -0/+8Wow. Now mechanical engineers can claim their field dates back 2000+ years.
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -3/+11I think its probably linux because it does not have a lot of RAM.
  • peters1023, on 07/09/2009, -1/+8After reading a crysis and vista reference I have lost all hope for diggers and I now associate you with youtubers.
  • LeviTheSmith, on 07/09/2009, -1/+8wat u tlkin bout ?
  • FelixdaaHack, on 07/08/2009, -2/+9...because this is SPARTA!! [kicks dsarnoLAT down a deep hole]
  • RadiatedAnt, on 07/08/2009, -0/+7yeah but can it run memes?
  • inactive, on 07/08/2009, -0/+6I'm glad they finally figured out what it was used for.
  • BeforeSputnik, on 07/08/2009, -0/+6This article is about what happened before Sputnik.
    (that was just too easy)
  • eShinn, on 07/08/2009, -2/+8I never actually heard it before.What was it all about?
  • noahhoward, on 07/08/2009, -0/+6Tracking the passage of time.
  • feomatteo88, on 07/08/2009, -0/+6On an unrelated, but related note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-duqsCFXxc&fmt ...

    BT - The Antikythera Mechanism

    10 minutes of epic

  • geekmansworld, on 07/08/2009, -1/+7"Beta candidate"
  • copypastry, on 07/09/2009, -0/+6lots of GOATS though.
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