Qitsune
July 31st, 2008, 04:55 PM
You may or may not be aware of this. A clockwork device dating from the ancient greeks.
Article in Scientific American (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=antikythera-mechanism-eclipse-olympics)
Article in Nature (http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080730/full/454561a.html) The Nature article also has a video.
An ancient Greek astronomical calculator that showed the positions of the sun, Earth and the moon, and outshined any known device for 1,000 years after it, also kept track of something more mundane: when the next Olympics would take place.
PS: Wasn't there a sticky for cool creatures and historical discoveries around here?
Article in Scientific American (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=antikythera-mechanism-eclipse-olympics)
Article in Nature (http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080730/full/454561a.html) The Nature article also has a video.
An ancient Greek astronomical calculator that showed the positions of the sun, Earth and the moon, and outshined any known device for 1,000 years after it, also kept track of something more mundane: when the next Olympics would take place.
PS: Wasn't there a sticky for cool creatures and historical discoveries around here?