AntikytheraMechanism
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It turns out the world's oldest 'computer' dates back to 205 BC
The device regarded the world's first computer (analog, of course) could have been used even earlier than researchers thought. Inspection of a dial from the 2,000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism and an examination of Babylonian eclipse records revealed the device's origin to be 205 BC, 50-100 years before previous findings indicate. The new date offers a clue as to how Greeks predicted eclipses and planetary position, too. Until now, scientists thought the system was based on trigonometry, but that method didn't exist yet, so instead, the mechanism relied on Babylonian arithmetic. Using a process of elimination, a pair of researchers compared records and recovered pieces of the dial that aided with eclipse prediction in order to arrive at the new calculation. The hunt continues for the rest of the Antikythera Mechanism, as a team is hoping to continue its search of the shipwreck where fragments have been found this spring. [Photo credit: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images]
Apple engineer re-creates Greek computer with LEGOs
It's fitting that an Apple software engineer would re-create what's possibly the world's oldest-known computer ... by using LEGOs. Andrew Carol used around 1,500 LEGOs to re-create the Antikythera mechanism, a machine that ancient Greeks used to foretell celestial events. He made four gearboxes with 110 gears total, and when fed data, the machine will tell you when the next solar eclipse will occur. It's a beautiful and ingenious machine, and worth checking out the YouTube video. Maybe Carol's next project will be taking on the Mayans. You can watch a video of the device in action after the break. [Via Engadget]
Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video)
The Antikythera Mechanism is what you call truly old school technology. Argued to be the world's oldest known computer, this ancient Greek invention was used some time circa 100BC to calculate and "predict celestial events and eclipses with unprecedented accuracy." Skipping past the two millennia in which it lay lost on a sea floor somewhere, the Mechanism has now been recreated by an Apple software engineer by the name of Andrew Carol, who has lovingly pieced 1,500 Lego Technic blocks together, creating 110 gears and four gearboxes in total. Each box is responsible for performing one piece of arithmetic, and when the resulting machine is fed with appropriate calendar data, it spits out a (hopefully accurate) prediction for the next time a solar eclipse should occur. All well and good, but we're really just amazed by the beauty of those gears working. Check them out after the break.
