Monday, July 19, 2010

Is Geocentrism Possible?




Relevant Books
This book demonstrates, using classical mechanics in a Machian framework the equivalence betweena rotating earth in a staionary universe and a stationary earth in a rotating universe. Examples demonstrated include Foucalt's pendulum.

Is Geocentrism Possible?
by Mark Wyatt
April 10, 2008

Every experiment ever designed to detect the motion of the earth has failed to detect earth's motion and/or distinguish it from relative counter motion of the universe. So much so that this failure has become the bedrock of relativity theory. See Galileo Was Wrong for a full explanation of these experiments.
Many, many observations tell us that we are in or very near the center. But science applies unproven assumptions to make this go away (i.e., isotropy). They say that every where looks like the center. But they do not know that- they have never been anywhere else (anywhere in the solar system is our backyard). Stephen Hawking (In A Short History of Time) claims we make that assumption out of modesty (while verifying that there is no scientific evidence for it).
Frankly, we just do not know. Science has its theories (based in naturalism and materialism- i.e., excluding the possiblity of God's intervention). Until we can step outside the universe and look in we cannot know. See Geocentrism 101, parts I and II for discussion of some of these issues.
On the other hand, Scriptures, the Church fathers, and a number of popes do tell us that the earth is stable and that the sun moves [around the earth]. See Geocentrism 101, part III and the supplement for discussion of the religious aspect of geocentrism.
A Few Quotations
Note these are based on general relativity, but not all evidence for geocentrism requires general relativity. It must be pointed out that Einstein set out to include Mach's Principle in general relativity, and to some degree succeeded. Mach's Principle is a basic statement about inertia, which supports the possibility of geocentrism.
Max Born said in his famous book,"Einstein's Theory of Relativity",Dover Publications,1962, pgs 344 & 345:
...Thus we may return to Ptolemy's point of view of a 'motionless earth'...One has to show that the transformed metric can be regarded as produced according to Einstein's field equations, by distant rotating masses. This has been done by Thirring. He calculated a field due to a rotating, hollow, thick-walled sphere and proved that inside the cavity it behaved as though there were centrifugal and other inertial forces usually attributed to absolute space. Thus from Einstein's point of view, Ptolemy and Corpenicus are equally right.
Einstein and Infeld, The Evolution of Physics, p.212 (p.248 in original 1938 ed.); Note: CS = coordinate system
The struggle, so violent in the early days of science, between the views of Ptolemy and Copernicus would then be quite meaningless. Either CS could be used with equal justification. The two sentences, 'the sun is at rest and the earth moves,' or 'the sun moves and the earth is at rest,' would simply mean two different conventions concerning two different CS.
George Ellis, a famous cosmologist, in Scientific American, "Thinking Globally, Acting Universally", October 1995
People need to be aware that there is a range of models that could explain the observations,” Ellis argues. “For instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe with Earth at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on observations.” Ellis has published a paper on this. “You can only exclude it on philosophical grounds. In my view there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we are using philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of cosmology tries to hide that.”
Sir Fred Hoyle,Astronomy and Cosmology - A Modern Course, (San Francisco:W. H. Freeman & Co.), p. 416,1975.
We know that the difference between a heliocentric theory and a geocentric theory is one of relative motion only, and that such a difference has no physical significance.

© 2008 Conceptula LLC

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Turin Shroud - New Evidence of Authenticity



New Evidence Confirms in Favour of Shroud

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Taken from: http://www.newgeology.us/presentation24.html

The Shroud of Turin - Evidence of authenticity Below is a summary of scientific and historical evidence supportive of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as the ancient burial cloth of the historical Jesus of Nazareth. by John C. Iannone THE SHROUD AS AN ANCIENT TEXTILE

The Shroud is a linen cloth woven in a 3-over-l herringbone pattern, and measures 14'3" x 3'7". These dimensions correlate with ancient measurements of 2 cubits x 8 cubits - consistent with loom technology of the period. The finer weave of 3-over-1 herringbone is consistent with the New Testament statement that the "sindon" (or shroud) was purchased by Joseph of Arimathea, who was a wealthy man. Also, Leviticus 19:19 speaks of the mixing of linen and cotton, but prohibits linen and wool or the mixing of vegetable and animal. In 1969, Dr. Gilbert Raes of the Ghent Institute of Textile Technology in Belgium noted that there are traces of cotton (identified as Gossipium herbaceum) in the linen of the Shroud. [Photo] In June 2002, the Shroud was sent to a team of experts for restoration. One of them was Swiss textile historian Mechthild Flury-Lemberg. She was surprised to find a peculiar stitching pattern in the seam of one long side of the Shroud, where a three-inch wide strip of the same original fabric was sewn onto a larger segment. The stitching pattern, which she says was the work of a professional, is quite similar to the hem of a cloth found in the tombs of the Jewish fortress of Masada.

The Masada cloth dates to between 40 BC and 73 AD

This kind of stitch has never been found in Medieval Europe. 1988 CARBON-14 TEST REFUTED Several studies have challenged the validity of the 1988 Carbon-14 tests done at Oxford, Zurich and Arizona Labs.1. A Jan 20, 2005 paper in the professional journal ThermoChimica Acta by Dr. Ray Rogers, retired Fellow with the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and lead chemist with the original science team STURP (the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project, involving approximately 35 scientists directly examining the Shroud for five days), has proven conclusively that the sample cut from The Shroud of Turin in 1988 was taken from an area of the cloth that was re-woven during the middle ages. Here are some excerpts: "Pyrolysis-mass-spectrometry results from the sample area coupled with microscopic and microchemical observations prove that the radiocarbon sample was not part of the original cloth of the Shroud of Turin. The radiocarbon date was thus not valid for determining the true age of the shroud." "The shroud was badly damaged in a church fire in 1532 AD. Nuns patched burn holes and stitched the shroud to a reinforcing cloth that is now known as the Holland cloth." This probably occurred in 1534. "As part of the shroud of turin research project (STURP), I took 32 adhesive-tape samples from all areas of the shroud and associated textiles in 1978." "It enabled direct chemical testing on recovered linen fibers and particulates". "If the shroud had been produced between 1260 and 1390 AD, as indicated by the radiocarbon analyses, lignin should be easy to detect. A linen produced in 1260 AD would have retained about 37% of its vanillin in 1978... The Holland cloth, and all other medieval linens gave the test [i.e. tested positive] for vanillin wherever lignin could be observed on growth nodes. The disappearance of all traces of vanillin from the lignin in the shroud indicates a much older age than the radiocarbon laboratories reported." "The fire of 1532 could not have greatly affected the vanillin content of lignin in all parts of the shroud equally. The thermal conductivity of linen is very low... therefore, the unscorched parts of the folded cloth could not have become very hot." "The cloth's center would not have heated at all in the time available. The rapid change in color from black to white at the margins of the scorches illustrates this fact." "Different amounts of vanillin would have been lost in different areas. No samples from any location on the shroud gave the vanillin test [i.e. tested positive]." "The lignin on shroud samples and on samples from the Dead Sea scrolls does not give the test [i.e. tests negative]." "Because the shroud and other very old linens do not give the vanillin test [i.e. test negative], the cloth must be quite old." "A determination of the kinetics of vanillin loss suggests that the shroud is between 1300- and 3000-years old. Even allowing for errors in the measurements and assumptions about storage conditions, the cloth is unlikely to be as young as 840 years." "A gum/dye/mordant [(for affixing dye)] coating is easy to observe on... radiocarbon [sample] yarns. No other part of the shroud shows such a coating." "The radiocarbon sample had been dyed. Dyeing was probably done intentionally on pristine replacement material to match the color of the older, sepia-colored cloth." "The dye found on the radiocarbon sample was not used in Europe before about 1291 AD and was not common until more than 100 years later." "Specifically, the color and distribution of the coating implies that repairs were made at an unknown time with foreign linen dyed to match the older original material." "The consequence of this conclusion is that the radiocarbon sample was not representative of the original cloth." "The combined evidence from chemical kinetics, analytical chemistry, cotton content, and pyrolysis-mass-spectrometry proves that the material from the radiocarbon area of the shroud is significantly different from that of the main cloth. The radiocarbon sample was thus not part of the original cloth and is invalid for determining the age of the shroud." "A significant amount of charred cellulose was removed during a restoration of the shroud in 2002." "A new radiocarbon analysis should be done on the charred material retained from the 2002 restoration." Raymond N. Rogers. 20 January 2005. Studies on the radiocarbon sample from the shroud of turin. Thermochimica Acta, Vol. 425, Issue 1-2, Pages 189-194. 2. The Fire-Model Tests of Dr. Dmitri Kouznetsov in 1994 and Drs. John Jackson and Propp in 1998, which replicated the famous Fire of 1532, demonstrate that the fire added carbon isotopes to the linen. 3. Dr. Leoncio Garza-Valdes (microbiologist) discovered a bioplastic coating of bacteria and fungus on the linen fibers (60% by weight) caused by living microbes that absorb and add C-14 to the Cloth and thereby skew the date by at least 1300 years. These microbes were not known at the time of the test and were not removed by the C-14 cleaning protocol. 4. Consistent problems with the dating of linens (Egyptian Bull Mummy; Mummy 1770 Manchester Museum; Ibis Bird Mummy) call the accuracy of linen testing into question.

BURIAL CONSISTENT WITH ANCIENT JEWISH BURIAL CUSTOM

The burial is consistent with ancient Jewish burial customs in all respects, including the use of cave-tombs, attitude of the body (hands folded over loins), and types of burial cloths. The Sindon (Shroud) enveloped the body. The Sudarium was a face-cloth used to cover the face out of respect during removal from the cross through entombment. It was then removed and placed to one side. There was also a chin-band holding the mouth closed. The Othonia were bandages used to bind the wrists and legs. All are mentioned in the New Testament and evidenced on the Cloth. Such cloths are spoken of in the Misnah - oral traditions of the Rabbis written down in the second and third century. The Cave-Tombs were carved out of sides of limestone hills. The presence of Calcium Carbonate (limestone dust) on the Cloth was noted by Dr. Eugenia Nitowski (Utah archaeologist) in her studies of the cave tombs of Jerusalem. Optical Engineer Sam Pellicori noted in 1978 the presence of dirt particles on the nose as well as on the left knee and heel. Prof. Giovanni Riggi noted burial mites. Dr. Garza-Valdes discovered oak tubules (microscopic splinters) in the blood of the occipital area (back of the head) as well as natron salts. Traces of aloe and myrrh have also been identified on the Cloth. These are consistent with Jewish burial customs of antiquity.

IMAGE FORMATION vs WORK OF AN ARTIST


No one knows for sure how the images were created. The images are scorch-like, yet not created by heat, and are a purely surface phenomenon limited to the crowns of the top fibers. The Shroud is clearly not a painting. There are no signs of penetration. The blood was on the Cloth before the image (an unlikely way for an artist to work). There is no outline, no binders to hold paint, no evidence that paint, dye, ink, or chalk created the images, and there are no brush strokes. According to world-renowned artist Isabel Piczek, the images have no style that would fit into any period of art history. The images show perfect photo-negativity and 3-dimensionality. It is not a Vaporgraph or natural result of vapors. Note: some microscopic particles of paint exist on the Shroud, but these do not constitute the image. During the Middle Ages, a practice called the "sanctification of paintings" permitted about 50 artists to paint replicas of the Shroud and then lay their paintings over the Shroud to "sanctify" them. This permitted contact transfer of particles, which then migrated around the cloth with the folding and rolling of the Shroud when it was opened for exhibit and closed again afterwards. STURP determined that the image was caused by rapid dehydration, oxidation and degradation of the linen by an unidentified process, coloring it a sepia or straw yellow. Several Physicists, including Dr. John Jackson of the Colorado Shroud Center, suggest that a form of columnated radiation is the best explanation for how the image was formed, leaving a scorch-like appearance (the scorch caused by light versus heat, as the image does not fluoresce). Dr. Thomas Phillips (nuclear physicist at Duke University and formerly with the High Energy Labs at Harvard) says a potential miliburst of radiation (a neutron flux) could be consistent with the moment of resurrection. Such a miliburst might cause the purely surface phenomenon of the scorch-like (scorch-by-light) images, and possibly add Carbon-14 to the Cloth. As Dr. Phillips points out: "We never had a resurrection to study" and more testing should be done to ascertain whether a neutron-flux occurred.

BLOOD EVIDENCE (vs PAINT THEORY)


The blood on the Shroud is real, human male blood of the type AB (typed by Dr. Baima Ballone in Turin and confirmed in the U.S.). This blood type is rare (3.2% of the world population, according to Dr. Leoncio Garza-Valdes of the University of Texas Health Science Center), and is found mostly in the Middle East, with the highest percentage being in northern Palestine. Blood chemist Dr. Alan Adler (Univ. of Western Connecticut) and the late Dr. John Heller (New England Institute of Medicine) found a high concentration of the pigment bilirubin, consistent with someone dying under great stress or trauma and making the color more red than normal ancient blood. Drs. Victor and Nancy Tryon of the University of Texas Health Science Center found X & Y chromosomes representing male blood and "degraded DNA" (approximately 700 base pairs) "consistent with the supposition of ancient blood."

PATHOLOGY OF THE WOUNDS OF CRUCIFIXION AND THE SIGNATURE OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS


Numerous surgeons and pathologists (including Dr. Frederick Zugibe (Medical Examiner - Rockland, New York), Dr. Robert Bucklin (Medical Examiner - Las Vegas, Nevada), Dr. Herman Moedder (Germany), the late Dr. Pierre Barbet (France), and Dr. David Willis (England)) have studied the match between the Words, Weapons and Wounds, and agree that the words of the New Testament regarding the Passion clearly match the wounds depicted on the Shroud, and that these wounds are consistent with the weapons used by ancient Roman soldiers in Crucifixion. Specifically, the scourge marks on the shoulders, back, and legs of the Man of the Shroud match the flagrum (Roman whip) which has three leather thongs, each having two lead or bone pellets (plumbatae) on the end. The lance wound in the right side matches the Roman Hasta (4cm x 1 cm spear wound). Iron nails (7" spikes) were used in the wrist area (versus the palms as commonly depicted in Medieval art). These marks, combined with the capping of thorns which is not found anywhere else in Crucifixion literature of ancient Roman (Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Elder or Pliny the Younger) or Jewish historians (Flavius Joesphus, Philo of Alexandria) create a unique signature of the historical Jesus of Nazareth.

THE SUDARIUM CHRISTI - THE FACE CLOTH OF CHRIST


In the Cathedral of Oviedo in northern Spain is a linen cloth called the Sudarium Christi, or the Face Cloth of Christ. It is often referred to as the Cloth of Oviedo. Modern studies by the Spanish Centre for Sindonology (Dr. Jose Villalain, Jaime Izquierdo and Guillermo Heras of the University of Valencia, as noted by Oviedo scholar Mark Guscin) using infrared and ultraviolet photography and electron microscopy have demonstrated that this Cloth, along with the Shroud of Turin, both touched the same face. Tradition and historical information (now supported by contemporary scientific research) support the belief of millions of people that the face touched by both cloths was that of the historical Jesus of Nazareth. The two cloths are believed to have touched the same face at different points in the burial process. The Oviedo Cloth was placed around the head from the time death occurred on the Cross till the body was covered by the Shroud in the Garden Tomb. Then it was removed and placed to one side (John 20:7). Mark Guscin notes that the practice of covering the face is referenced in the Talmud (Moed Katan 27a). He adds that Rabbi Alfred Kolatch in NY talks of the Kevod Ha-Met or "respect for the dead" as the reason for covering the head. Rabbi Michael Tuktzinsky of Jerusalem in his Sefer Gesher Cha'yim (Volume 1, Chapter 3, 1911) offers as a reason that it is a hardship for onlookers to gaze on the face of a dead person. The Sudarium Christi is a poor quality linen cloth, like a handkerchief, measuring 84 x 53 centimeters. Unlike the Shroud of Turin, it does not have an image. However, it does have bloodstains and serum stains from pulmonary edema fluid which match the blood and serum patterns and blood type (AB) of the Shroud of Turin. The length of the nose on both cloths is 8 centimeters (3 inches). Pollen grains found on the Cloth of Oviedo by Dr. Max Frei in 1973 and 1978 and studied also by Monsignor Giulio Ricci match pollen grains found on the Shroud of Turin. Dr. Uri Baruch (expert palynologist from the Israel Antiquities Authority) has indicated that one of these pollen matches is Gundelia tournefortii - a thorn/thistle bush that is indigenous to the Holy Land. Dr. Avinoam Danin (botanist and expert on the flora of the Holy Land who teaches at Hebrew University in Jerusalem) reports that Gundelia tournefortii serves as a "geographic and calendar indicator" that the origin or provenance of the cloths is the Holy Land. The Sudarium Christi has a well-documented history. One source traces the cloth back as far as 570 AD. Pelayo, Bishop of Oviedo in the 1100's, noted in his Chronicles that the Oviedo Cloth left Jerusalem in 614 AD in the face of the Persian attack led by King Chosroes II, and made its way across North Africa to Spain. It was transported to Oviedo in a silver ark (large box) along with many other sacred relics. The fact that both cloths touched the same face, and that the Oviedo Cloth can be traced historically to a date as early as 570 AD are further proof that the Carbon-14 dating of the Shroud to between 1260 -1390 AD cannot be correct. Those wishing to read the work of Oviedo scholar Mark Guscin may read The Oviedo Cloth - The Luttenworth Press 1998, Cambridge, CT. ISBN 07188-2985-9.

PRESENCE OF POLLEN GRAINS AND FLORAL IMAGES


In 1995, Israeli botanist and expert on the plant life of Israel Dr. Avinoam Danin, a Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, confirmed findings by Dr. Alan Whanger, Professor Emeritus at Duke University in North Carolina, of floral images on enhanced Shroud photographs. They were joined by Dr. Uri Baruch of the Israel Antiquities Authority, a palynologist and expert on Israel's pollen. Danin studied the plant images and Baruch analyzed the pollen grains found by the late Swiss criminologist and botanist Dr. Max Frei via the sticky tape collection of materials that Frei had taken from the Shroud in 1973 and 1978. The team has identified, the "inflorescence of the crown chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium)"; the Rock Rose (Cistus creticus) lateral to the left cheek of the figure on the Shroud; a bouquet of bean caper plants (Zygophyllum dumosum); and a thorn tumbleweed (Gundelia tournefortii) which Whanger speculates comprised the Crown of Thorns. Danin indicates that the pollen grains serve as "geographic and calendar indicators" demonstrating that the origin or provenance of the Shroud was definitely the Holy Land, and more specifically an area in and around Jerusalem. Zygoplyllum dumosum, for example, grows only in Israel, Jordan and the Sinai. Evidence also suggests that the flowers on the Shroud were picked in the Spring. Danin notes that "...they could have been picked fresh in the fields. A few of the species could be found in the markets of Jerusalem in the Spring of the year" - a period consistent with the time of the Passover and the Crucifixion. It appears that bunches or bouquets of flowers were once placed on the Shroud, leaving pollen grains and imprints of plants and flowers on the linen cloth. It provides important evidence regarding the origin of this cloth in the Holy Land, and indicates that the Man of the Shroud was entombed with flowers from the waist up to the head.

HISTORICAL REFERENCES


There are many historical references. Among them are the ancient Abgar Legends which place the cloth in the City of Edessa (Turkey), 400 miles north of Jerusalem during reign of King Abgar V, somewhere between 30 - 40 AD. Pollen finds confirm the presence in Edessa (Anatolian Steppe). Ancient historians Eusebius and Evagrius speak of the Cloth moving with disciple Thaddaeus to Edessa. The Acts of Holy Apostle Thaddaeus (6th Century) speaks of the tetradiplon (cloth doubled-in-four). Dr. John Jackson's raking light test of 1978 confirms fold marks matching tetradiplon. The Byzantine Greeks speak of the Acheiropoietas: image not made with human hands. There is a reference by a Chronicler of the 4th Crusade (Robert de Clari) that the "sindoine" disappeared from Constantinople in 1204.

SHROUD ILLUSTRATED IN PRAY MANUSCRIPT

In the Budapest National Library is the Pray Manuscript, the oldest surviving text of the Hungarian language. It was written between 1192 and 1195 AD (65 years before the earliest Carbon-14 date in the 1988 tests). One of its illustrations shows preparations for the burial of Christ. The picture includes a burial cloth with the same herringbone weave as the Shroud, plus 4 holes near one of the edges. The holes form an "L" shape. This odd pattern of holes is found on the Shroud of Turin. They are burn holes, perhaps from a hot poker or incense embers.

ANCIENT COINS OF PONTIUS PILATE?


3-D imagery of NASA's VP-8 Image Analyzer (Dr. John Jackson, Dr. Eric Jumper and Rev. Kenneth Stevenson in 1978) shows "dense, button-like objects over the eyes" about the size of a U.S. dime. Macrophotography (by the late Fr. Francis Filas, S.J. of Loyola U. in Chicago), and digitalization of the eye area (Dr. Robert Haralick , U. of Virginia Spatial Data Analysis Lab) suggest coin-lettering consistent with the Lepton (Widow's Mite) minted by Pontius Pilate between 29 - 32 AD. Specifically, Filas makes a case for the letters "UCAI", which are on the lepton, and Haralick's digitalization appears to confirm these four raised letters. They are consistent with the "U" of Tiberious and "CAI" of Caisaros (Tiberiou Caisaros) printed on the coins. Normally, coins would be minted with Greek lettering and we would have anticipated "UKAI". However, many leptons were misspelled with Latin "UCAI". Original Text Copyright 1999-2001 John C. Iannone. All rights reserved.
Text supplemented in 2004 and 2005, and clarified in 2009 by J.M. Fischer.
Shroud photos courtesy of Barrie M. Schwortz. 1978

For an in-depth scientific analysis of the Shroud, see Dr. Rogers' FAQ

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Miracle of Lourdes



February 11th Next Day
Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes Old Calendar: Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes

Today marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St. Bernadette) Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared eighteen times, and showed herself to St. Bernadette in the hollow of the rock at Lourdes. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

Our Lady of Lourdes

The many miracles which have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin at Lourdes prompted the Church to institute a special commemorative feast, the "Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary." The Office gives the historical background. Four years after the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the Blessed Virgin appeared a number of times to a very poor and holy girl named Bernadette. The actual spot was in a grotto on the bank of the Gave River near Lourdes.

The Immaculate Conception had a youthful appearance and was clothed in a pure white gown and mantle, with an azure blue girdle. A golden rose adorned each of her bare feet. On her first apparition, February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin bade the girl make the sign of the Cross piously and say the rosary with her. Bernadette saw her take the rosary that was hanging from her arms into her hands. This was repeated in subsequent apparitions.

With childlike simplicity Bernadette once sprinkled holy water on the vision, fearing that it was a deception of the evil spirit; but the Blessed Virgin smiled pleasantly, and her face became even more lovely. The third time Mary appeared she invited the girl to come to the grotto daily for two weeks. Now she frequently spoke to Bernadette. On one occasion she ordered her to tell the ecclesiastical authorities to build a church on the spot and to organize processions. Bernadette also was told to drink and wash at the spring still hidden under the sand.

Finally on the feast of the Annunciation, the beautiful Lady announced her name, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

The report of cures occurring at the grotto spread quickly and the more it spread, the greater the number of Christians who visited the hallowed place. The publicity given these miraculous events on the one hand and the seeming sincerity and innocence of the girl on the other made it necessary for the bishop of Tarbes to institute a judicial inquiry. Four years later he declared the apparitions to be supernatural and permitted the public veneration of the Immaculate Conception in the grotto. Soon a chapel was erected, and since that time countless pilgrims come every year to Lourdes to fulfill promises or to beg graces.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

February 11 was proclaimed World Day of the Sick by Pope John Paul II. Therefore, it would be appropriate to celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on this day during a Mass or Liturgy of the Word. (The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is only to be given to "those of the faithful whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age", Roman Ritual. This Sacrament must not be given indiscriminately to all who take part in Masses for the sick.)

We pilgrims to Lourdes
Anyone who has made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Lourdes will not have missed the opportunity to pray at the Grotto where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on the 11th of February 1858. A mystical place, similar to the welcoming “bosom” of a mother, almost a baptismal font, in which to immerse ourselves and rediscover the unrivalled beauty of being Christians: having God as our Father and Mary as our Mother!

Lourdes is one of the most important “places of grace” known to the Church. It is like a vast basin of purity where countless souls have removed the clothes of sin and put on the snow white garments of spiritual rebirth! Some, like the author, found the light necessary to embrace the call to the priesthood, others, the strength to remain faithful to this commitment.

How can we deny that the Mother is the one who knows the Will of the Son better than anyone else and that turning to Her we understand better the mysterious plan God has for each one of us? No one better than Mary can convince us to “do whatever he tells you”!

In Lourdes, like the servants at Cana, we too sincerely open our hearts to the presence of the Mother and, attentive to her words, we are captivated by the mystery of the Son. Then we see His Will for what it truly is: our path to happiness!

Bernardette actually saw the Lady dressed in white, whereas we see her not with our eyes but with our heart, which is aware in faith of her presence on our journey. In front of the Grotto of Massabielle the pilgrim's interior vision is illuminated with a light typical of that place of grace: the light of the spiritual motherhood of Mary who gives Jesus to us as at Christmas, again and again.

Those apparitions have sustained countless souls, encouraging them on the path of conversion and personal sanctification. And their change has helped improve the world because the whole world benefits from the conversion of even one heart.

For us, pilgrims to Lourdes, Mary's universal motherhood is a mystery to discover again and again, so she may accompany us all through life. In Lourdes this Marian light is present everywhere: when we bathe in the waters, in the evening when we mingle with thousands of others to pray the rosary at the torchlight procession; in the afternoon when we join crowds of sick persons taking part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession …

Her presence is a mystery to savor in our soul and to learn, with Mary, to honour her Son, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The first to witness Our Lady's presence at Lourdes was little Bernardette Soubirous, who became her intrepid messenger. Although she is buried far away in Nevers in the north of France, her body totally incorrupt, as if she were asleep, you can "meet" Saint Bernadette everywhere in Lourdes.

It is sweet to remember her and read the humble words she addressed to Our Lady: “Yes, gentle Mother, you lowered yourself, you came down to earth to appear to a helpless little girl… You, the Queen of Heaven and earth, deigned to make use of what was most humble for the world” (from her Journal dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, 1866).

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, recalling that “this year (2008) the beginning of Lent coincides providentially with the 150th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes”, said in his Angelus reflection on the 1st Sunday of Lent “the message which Our Lady still offers at Lourdes recalls the words Jesus said at the beginning of his public mission and that we hear so often in these first days of Lent: ‘Convert and believe in the Gospel, pray and do penance. Let us respond to the call of Mary who echoes that of Christ and let us ask Her to help us ‘enter’ Lent with faith and live this season of grace with deep joy and generous commitment” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 10 February 2008). (Agenzia Fides 13/2/2008; righe 47, parole 662)

— Mgr. Luciano Alimandi

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And from: http://archive.student.bmj.com/issues/02/02/life/33.php

Cures and miracles
Near the busy medical bureau is a fascinating photographic display of pilgrims who have been cured, with notes about their conditions. This is open to the public. A lot of faith lies behind a cure but how do you demystify the beliefs surrounding Lourdes? Current medical opinion is hugely important in helping to define a miraculous cure, requiring an alliance between science and the church.
A miracle is "an extraordinary event, believed to be due to a benevolent divine intervention, to which is attributed a spiritual significance." Today, after intense medical and ecclesiastical refinement, the recognition of a cure or miracle requires four stages.
Submission to an examination by the medical bureau of Lourdes
When a pilgrim claims a cure he or she is examined by the pilgrimage doctor before being referred to the doctors at the medical bureau, which was established in 1947. This body is responsible for the first level of assessment when validating a cure. The pilgrim, along with their case notes, is examined by the presiding doctors, all witnessed by the rector of the sanctuary and the pilgrim's priest.
The medical criteria for a cure must be satisfied.
  • The illness has been authenticated and the diagnosis is correct.
  • The prognosis of the disease must be clear cut, including those regarded as permanent or terminal in the near future.
  • The cure is immediate, without convalescence, complete, definitive, and lasting.
  • The prescribed treatment could not be contributed to the cause of the cure or an aid to it.

Members of Le Bureau des Constations
(a medical panel) consider a cure (1892 - 1917)
When a cure is confirmed, collegial assessment requires the pilgrim to meet with the medical bureau over a further three years. If the majority of doctors wish, the file of the cured pilgrim will be sent to the Lourdes International Medical Committee (CMIL), which was established in 1954.
Submission to an examination by the international committee
The international medical committee assesses the cures over 10 to 15 years and observes the patient's development. It certifies medically any proposed file, so constituting the final judicial process. After a positive decision, the file of the cure is sent to the church authorities.
Convening of the Diocesan Canonical Commission
The duty of pronouncing a cure as a miracle rests with the bishop of the diocese of the person who has been cured. The Diocesan Canonical Commission of priests, canons, theologians, and doctors is called together and when its conclusions are positive the bishop asks the diocese to recognise the cure as a "sign of God," a miracle.
....

Sunday, December 20, 2009

An Ancient Computer




The Antikythera mechanism (main fragment).

The Antikythera mechanism (pronounced /ˌæntɪkɪˈθɪərə/ AN-ti-ki-THEER-ə), is an ancient mechanical calculator (also described as the first known mechanical computer)[1][2] designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1900–01 from the Antikythera wreck,[3] but its complexity and significance were not understood until decades later. It is now thought to have been built about 150–100 BC. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks appeared in Europe.[4]
Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited the wreck for the last time in 1978,[5] but found no more remains of the Antikythera Mechanism. Professor Michael Edmunds of Cardiff University who led the most recent study of the mechanism said: "This device is just extraordinary, the only thing of its kind. The design is beautiful, the astronomy is exactly right. The way the mechanics are designed just makes your jaw drop. Whoever has done this has done it extremely carefully...in terms of historic and scarcity value, I have to regard this mechanism as being more valuable than the Mona Lisa."[6][7]
The device is displayed in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, accompanied by a reconstruction made and offered to the museum by Derek de Solla Price. Other reconstructions are on display at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana and the Children's Museum of Manhattan in New York and in Kassel, Germany.

Contents[hide]

1 Origins
2 Function
3 Speculation about its purpose
4 Similar devices in ancient literature
5 Investigations and reconstructions
5.1 Derek J. de Solla Price
5.2 Allan George Bromley
5.3 Michael Wright
5.4 The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
6 New discoveries
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links

Origins

The mechanism is the oldest known complex scientific calculator. It contains many gears, and is sometimes called the first known analog computer,[8] although its flawless manufacturing suggests that it may have had a number of predecessors during the Hellenistic Period which have not yet been discovered.[9] It appears to be constructed upon theories of astronomy and mathematics developed by Greek astronomers and it is estimated that it was made around 150-100 BC. One hypothesis is that the device was constructed at an academy founded by the ancient Stoic philosopher Posidonius on the Greek island of Rhodes, which at the time was known as a centre of astronomy and mechanical engineering, and that perhaps the astronomer Hipparchus was the engineer who designed it since it contains a lunar mechanism which uses Hipparchus's theory for the motion of the Moon. Investigators have suggested that the ship could have been carrying it to Rome, together with other treasure looted from the island to support a triumphal parade being staged by Julius Caesar.[10] However, the most recent findings of The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, as published in the July 30, 2008, edition of Nature also suggest that the concept for the mechanism originated in the colonies of Corinth, which might imply a connection with Archimedes. The circumstances under which it came to be on the cargo ship are unknown. Consensus among scholars is that the mechanism itself was made in the Greek speaking world.[7] All the instructions of the mechanism are written in Greek.

Function

Schematic of the artifact's mechanism.
The device is remarkable for the level of miniaturization and for the complexity of its parts, which is comparable to that of 18th century clocks. It has over 30 gears, although Michael Wright (see below) has suggested as many as 72 gears, with teeth formed through equilateral triangles. When a date was entered via a crank (now lost), the mechanism calculated the position of the Sun, Moon, or other astronomical information such as the location of other planets. Since the purpose was to position astronomical bodies with respect to the celestial sphere, with reference to the observer's position on the surface of the earth, the device was based on the geocentric model.[11]
The mechanism has three main dials, one on the front, and two on the back. The front dial has two concentric scales. The outer ring is marked off with the days of the 365-day Egyptian calendar, or the Sothic year, based on the Sothic cycle. Inside this, there is a second dial marked with the Greek signs of the Zodiac and divided into degrees. The calendar dial can be moved to compensate for the effect of the extra quarter day in the solar year (there are 365.2422 days per year) by turning the scale backwards one day every four years. Note that the Julian calendar, the first calendar of the region to contain leap years, was not introduced until about 46 BC, up to a century after the device was said to have been built.
The front dial probably carried at least three hands, one showing the date, and two others showing the positions of the Sun and the Moon. The Moon indicator is adjusted to show the first anomaly of the Moon's orbit. It is reasonable to suppose the Sun indicator had a similar adjustment, but any gearing for this mechanism (if it existed) has been lost. The front dial also includes a second mechanism with a spherical model of the Moon that displays the lunar phase.
There is reference in the inscriptions for the planets Mars and Venus, and it would have certainly been within the capabilities of the maker of this mechanism to include gearing to show their positions. There is some speculation that the mechanism may have had indicators for all the five planets known to the Greeks. None of the gearing for such planetary mechanisms survives, except for one gear otherwise unaccounted for.
Finally, the front dial includes a parapegma, a precursor to the modern day Almanac, which was used to mark the rising and setting of specific stars. Each star is thought to be identified by Greek characters which cross reference details inscribed on the mechanism.
The upper back dial is in the form of a spiral, with 47 divisions per turn, displaying the 235 months of the 19 year Metonic cycle. This cycle is important in fixing calendars.
The lower back dial is also in the form of a spiral, with 225 divisions showing the Saros cycle; it also has a smaller subsidiary dial which displays the 54 year "Triple Saros" or "Exeligmos" cycle. (The Saros cycle, discovered by the Chaldeans, is a period of approximately 18 years 11 days 8 hours—the length of time between occurrences of a particular eclipse.)
The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, with experts from Britain, Greece and the United States, detected in July 2008 the word "Olympia" on a bronze dial thought to display the 76 year Callippic cycle, as well as the names of other games in ancient Greece, and probably used to track dates of the ancient Olympic games. According to BBC news:
"The four sectors of the dial are inscribed with a year number and two Panhellenic Games: the 'crown' games of Isthmia, Olympia, Nemea, and Pythia; and two lesser games: Naa (held at Dodona) and a second game which has not yet been deciphered."[12]
[edit] Speculation about its purpose
Derek J. de Solla Price suggested that it might have been on public display, possibly in a museum or public hall in Rhodes. The island was known for its displays of mechanical engineering, particularly automata, which apparently were a specialty of the Rhodians. Pindar, one of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, said this of Rhodes in his seventh Olympic Ode:
"The animated figures stand
Adorning every public street
And seem to breathe in stone, or
Move their marble feet."
Arguments against it being on public display include:
a) The device is rather small, indicating that the designer was aiming for compactness and, as a result, the size of the front and back dials is unsuitable for public display. A simple comparison with size of the Tower of the Winds in Athens could give us a hint to suggest that the aim of the Antikythera mechanism manufacturer was the mobility of this device rather than its public display in a fixed place (such as a university, temple, museum or public hall).
b) The mechanism had door plates attached to it that contain at least 2,000 characters, forming what members of the Antikythera mechanism research project often refer to as an instruction manual for the mechanism. The neat attachment of this manual to the mechanism itself implies ease of transport and personal use.
c) The existence of this "instruction manual" implies that the device was constructed by an expert scientist and mechanic in order to be used by a non-expert traveler (the text gives a lot of information associated with well known geographical locations of the Mediterranean area).[citation needed]
The device is unlikely to have been intended for navigation use because:
a) Some data, such as eclipse predictions, are unnecessary for navigation.
b) The harsh environment of the sea would corrode the gears in a short period of time, rendering it useless.
On 30 July 2008, scientists reported new findings in the journal Nature showing that the mechanism tracked the Metonic calendar, predicted solar eclipses, and calculated the timing of the Ancient Olympic Games.[13] Inscriptions on the instrument closely match the names of the months on calendars from Illyria and Epirus in northwestern Greece and with the island of Corfu.[14][15]
[edit] Similar devices in ancient literature
Cicero's De re publica, a 1st century BC philosophical dialogue, mentions two machines that some modern authors consider as some kind of planetarium or orrery, predicting the movements of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets known at that time. They were both built by Archimedes and brought to Rome by the Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus after the death of Archimedes at the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC. Marcellus had a high respect for Archimedes and one of these machines was the only item he kept from the siege (the second was offered to the temple of Virtus). The device was kept as a family heirloom, and Cicero has Philus (one of the participant in a conversation that Cicero imagined had taken place in a villa belonging to Scipio Aemilianus in the year 129 BC) saying that Caius Sulpicius Gallus (consul with Marcellus' nephew in 166 BC, and credited by Pliny the Elder as the first Roman to have written a book explaining solar and lunar eclipses) gave a 'learned explanation' of it and demonstrated it working.
hanc sphaeram Gallus cum moveret, fiebat ut soli luna totidem conversionibus in aere illo quot diebus in ipso caelo succederet, ex quo et in [caelo] sphaera solis fieret eadem illa defectio, et incideret luna tum in eam metam quae esset umbra terrae, cum sol e regione
When Gallus moved the globe, it happened that the Moon followed the Sun by as many turns on that bronze [contrivance] as in the Earth itself, from which also in the sky the Sun's globe became [to have] that same eclipse, and the Moon came then to that position which was [its] shadow [on] the Earth, when the Sun was in line.[16]
So at least one of Archimedes' machines, probably (considering Gallus' interests and the fact that that portion of the De Republica seems to be concerned with astronomical prodigia and in particular eclipses) quite similar to the Antikythera mechanism, was still operated around 150 BC.
Pappus of Alexandria stated that Archimedes had written a now lost manuscript on the construction of these devices entitled On Sphere-Making.[17][18] The surviving texts from the Library of Alexandria describe many of his creations, some even containing simple blueprints. One such device is his odometer, the exact model later used by the Romans to place their mile markers (described by Vitruvius, Heron of Alexandria and in the time of Emperor Commodus).[19] The blueprints in the text appeared functional, but attempts to build them as pictured had failed. When the gears pictured, which had square teeth, were replaced with gears of the type in the Antikythera mechanism, which were angled, the device was perfectly functional.[20] Whether this is an example of a device created by Archimedes and described by texts lost in the burning of the Library of Alexandria, or if it is a device based on his discoveries, or if it has anything to do with him at all, is debatable.
If Cicero's account is correct, then this technology existed as early as the 3rd century BC. Archimedes' device is also mentioned by later Roman era writers such as Lactantius (Divinarum Institutionum Libri VII), Claudian (In sphaeram Archimedes), and Proclus (Commentary on the first book of Euclid's Elements of Geometry) in the 4th and 5th centuries.
Cicero also said that another such device was built 'recently' by his friend Posidonius, "... each one of the revolutions of which brings about the same movement in the Sun and Moon and five wandering stars [planets] as is brought about each day and night in the heavens..."[21]
It is unlikely that any one of these machines was the Antikythera mechanism found in the shipwreck because both the devices fabricated by Archimedes and mentioned by Cicero were located in Rome at least 30 years later than the estimated date of the shipwreck and the third one was almost certainly in the hands of Posidonius by that date. So we know of at least four such devices. The modern scientists who have reconstructed the Antikythera mechanism also agree that it was too sophisticated to have been a unique device.
It is probable that the Antikythera mechanism was not unique, as shown by Cicero's references to such mechanisms. This adds support to the idea that there was an ancient Greek tradition of complex mechanical technology that was later, at least in part, transmitted to the Byzantine and Islamic worlds, where mechanical devices which were complex, albeit simpler than the Antikythera mechanism, were built during the Middle Ages.[22] Fragments of a geared calendar attached to a sundial, from the 5th or 6th century Byzantine Empire, have been found; the calendar may have been used to assist in telling time.[23] In the Islamic world, Banū Mūsā's Kitab al-Hiyal, or Book of Ingenious Devices, was commissioned by the Caliph of Baghdad in the early 9th century. This text described over a hundred mechanical devices, some of which may date back to ancient Greek texts preserved in monasteries. A geared calendar similar to the Byzantine device was described by the scientist al-Biruni around 1000 AD, and a surviving 13th century astrolabe also contains a similar clockwork device.[23] It is possible that this medieval technology may have been transmitted to Europe and contributed to the development of mechanical clocks there.[4]
[edit] Investigations and reconstructions

Reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (made by Robert J. Deroski, based on Derek J. de Solla Price model).
The Antikythera mechanism is one of the world's oldest known geared devices. It has puzzled and intrigued historians of science and technology since its discovery. A number of individuals and groups have been instrumental in advancing the knowledge and understanding of the mechanism including: Derek J. de Solla Price (with Charalampos Karakalos); Allan George Bromley (with Frank Percival, Michael Wright and Bernard Gardner); Michael Wright and The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project.
[edit] Derek J. de Solla Price
Following decades of work cleaning the device, in 1951 British science historian Derek J. de Solla Price undertook systematic investigation of the mechanism.
Price published several papers on "Clockwork before the Clock".[24][25] and "On the Origin of Clockwork",[26] before the first major publication in June 1959 on the mechanism: "An Ancient Greek Computer".[27] This was the lead article in Scientific American and appears to have been initially published at the prompting of Arthur C. Clarke, according to the book Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (see end of chapter 3). In "An Ancient Greek Computer" Price advanced the theory that the Antikythera mechanism was a device for calculating the motions of stars and planets, which would make the device the first known analog computer. Until that time, the Antikythera mechanism's function was largely unknown, though it had been correctly identified as an astronomical device, perhaps being an astrolabe.
In 1971, Price, by then the first Avalon Professor of the History of Science at Yale University, teamed up with Charalampos Karakalos, professor of nuclear physics at the Greek National Centre of Scientific Research "DEMOKRITOS". Karakalos took both gamma- and X-ray radiographs of the mechanism, which revealed critical information about the device's interior configuration.
In 1974, Price wrote "Gears from the Greeks: the Antikythera mechanism — a calendar computer from ca. 80 B.C.",[28] where he presented a model of how the mechanism could have functioned.
Price's model, as presented in his "Gears from the Greeks", was the first theoretical attempt at reconstructing the device. According to that model, the front dial shows the annual progress of the Sun and Moon through the zodiac against the Egyptian calendar. The upper rear dial displays a four-year period and has associated dials showing the Metonic cycle of 235 synodic months, which approximately equals 19 solar years. The lower rear dial plots the cycle of a single synodic month, with a secondary dial showing the lunar year of 12 synodic months.
One of the remarkable proposals made by Price was that the mechanism employed differential gears, which enabled the mechanism to add or subtract angular velocities. The differential was used to compute the synodic lunar cycle by subtracting the effects of the Sun's movement from those of the sidereal lunar movement.
[edit] Allan George Bromley
An ingenious variant on Price's reconstruction was built by Australian computer scientist Allan George Bromley of the University of Sydney and Sydney clockmaker Frank Percival. Bromley went on to make new, more accurate X-ray images in collaboration with Michael Wright. Some of these were studied by Bromley's student, Bernard Gardner, in 1993.
[edit] Michael Wright
Michael Wright, formerly Curator of Mechanical Engineering at The London Science Museum and now of Imperial College, London, made a completely new study of the original fragments together with Allan George Bromley. They used a technique called linear X-ray tomography which was suggested by retired consultant radiologist, Alan Partridge. For this, Wright designed and made an apparatus for linear tomography, allowing the generation of sectional 2D radiographic images.[29] Early results of this survey were presented in 1997, which showed that Price's reconstruction was fundamentally flawed.[30]
Further study of the new imagery allowed Wright to advance a number of proposals. Firstly he developed the idea, suggested by Price in "Gears from the Greeks", that the mechanism could have served as a planetarium. Wright's planetarium not only modelled the motion of the Sun and Moon, but also the Inferior Planets (Mercury and Venus), and the Superior Planets (Mars, Jupiter and Saturn).[31][32]
Wright proposed that the Sun and Moon could have moved in accordance with the theories of Hipparchus and the five known planets moved according to the simple epicyclic theory suggested by the theorem of Apollonios. In order to prove that this was possible using the level of technology apparent in the mechanism, Wright produced a working model of such a planetarium.[33][34]
Wright also increased upon Price's gear count of 27 to 31[32] including 1 in Fragment C that was eventually identified as part of a Moon phase display.[35] He suggested that this is a mechanism that shows the phase of the Moon by means of a rotating semi-silvered ball, realized by the differential rotation of the sidereal cycle of the Moon and the Sun's yearly cycle. This precedes previously known mechanisms of this sort by a millennium and a half.
More accurate tooth counts were also obtained,[36] allowing a new gearing scheme to be advanced.[37] This more accurate information allowed Wright to confirm Price's perceptive suggestion that the upper back dial displays the Metonic cycle with 235 lunar months divisions over a five-turn scale. In addition to this Wright proposed the remarkable idea that the main back dials are in the form of spirals, with the upper back dial out as a five-turn spiral containing 47 divisions in each turn. It therefore presented a visual display of the 235 months of the Metonic cycle (19 years ≈ 235 Synodic Months). Wright also observed that fragmentary inscriptions suggested that the pointer on the subsidiary dial showed a count of four cycles of the 19-year period, equal to the 76-year Callippic cycle.[38]
Based on more tentative observations, Wright also came to the conclusion that the lower back dial counted Draconic Months and could perhaps have been used for eclipse prediction.[39]
All these findings have been incorporated into Wright's working model,[38] demonstrating that a single mechanism with all these functions could not only be built, but would also work.
Despite the improved imagery provided by the linear tomography Wright could not reconcile all the known gears into a single coherent mechanism, and this led him to advance the theory that the mechanism had been altered, with some astronomical functions removed and others added.[38]
Finally, as an outcome of his considerable research,[29][38][40][41][42][43][44] Wright also conclusively demonstrated that Price's assumption of the existence of a differential gearing arrangement was incorrect.[35][38]
Michael Wright's research on the mechanism is continuing in parallel with the efforts of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project. Recently Wright modified slightly his model of the mechanism to incorporate the latest findings of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project regarding the function of the pin and slot engaged gears that brilliantly simulate the anomaly in the Moon's angular velocity. On 6 March 2007 he presented his model in the National Hellenic Research Foundation in Athens.
[edit] The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
The Antikythera mechanism is now being studied by the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project,[45] a joint program between Cardiff University (M. Edmunds, T. Freeth), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (X. Moussas, Y. Bitsakis), the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (J.H. Seiradakis), the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, X-Tek Systems UK[46] and Hewlett-Packard USA, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and supported by the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece.[47]
The mechanism's fragility precluded its removal from the museum, so the Hewlett-Packard research team[48] and X-Tek Systems had to bring their devices to Greece. HP built a 3-D surface imaging device, known as the "PTM Dome," that surrounds the object under examination. X-Tek Systems developed a 12 ton 450 kV microfocus computerised tomographer especially for the Antikythera Mechanism.
It was announced in Athens on 21 October 2005 that new pieces of the Antikythera mechanism had been found. There are now 82 fragments. Most of the new pieces had been stabilized but were awaiting conservation.
On 30 May 2006, it was announced that the imaging system had enabled much more of the Greek inscription to be viewed and translated, from about 1,000 characters that were visible previously, to over 2,160 characters, representing about 95% of the extant text. The team's findings shed new light concerning the function and purpose of the Antikythera mechanism. Research is ongoing. The first results were announced at an international conference in Athens, November 30 and December 1, 2006.[45]
[edit] New discoveries
On 30 November 2006, the science journal Nature published a new reconstruction of the mechanism by the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, based on the high resolution X-ray tomography described above.[49] This work doubled the amount of readable text, corrected prior transcriptions, and provided a new translation. The inscriptions led to a dating of the mechanism to around 100 BC. It is evident that they contain a manual with an astronomical, mechanical and geographical section. The name HISPANIA (ΙΣΠΑΝΙΑ, Spain in Greek) in these texts is the oldest reference to this country under this form, as opposed to Iberia.
The new discoveries confirm that the mechanism is an astronomical analog calculator or orrery used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. This work proposes that the mechanism possessed 37 gears, of which 30 survive, and was used for prediction of the position of the Sun and the Moon. Based on the inscriptions, which mention the stationary points of the planets, the authors speculate that planetary motions may also have been indicated.
On the front face were graduations for the solar scale and the zodiac together with pointers that indicated the position of the Sun, the Moon, the lunar phase, and possibly the planetary motions.
On the back, two spiral scales (made of half-circles with two centres) with sliding pointers indicated the state of two further important astronomical cycles: the Saros cycle, the period of approximately 18 years separating the return of the Sun, Moon and Earth to the same relative positions and the more accurate exeligmos cycle of 54 years and one day (essential in eclipse prediction, see Eclipse cycle). It also contains another spiral scale for the Metonic cycle (19 years, equal to 235 lunar months) and the Callippic cycle that proposed a more accurate periodicity of 940 lunar months in approximately 76 years.
The Moon mechanism, using an ingenious train of gears, two of them linked with a slightly offset axis and pin in a slot, shows the position and phase of the Moon during the month. The velocity of the Moon varies according to the theory of Hipparchus, and to a good approximation follows Kepler's second law for the angular velocity, being faster near the perigee and slower at the apogee (see Kepler's laws of planetary motion).
On 31 July 2008, a paper providing further details about the mechanism was published in Nature (Nature Vol 454, Issue 7204, July 31, 2008).[50] In this paper, among other revelations, it is demonstrated that the mechanism also contained a dial divided into four parts, and demonstrating a four-year cycle through four segments of one year each, which is thought to be a means of describing which of the games (such as the ancient Olympics) that took place in two and four-year cycles were to take place in any given year.
The names of the months have been read; they are the months attested for the colonies of Corinth (and therefore also traditionally assumed for Corinth and Syracuse, which have left less direct evidence). The investigators suggest that the device may well be of Syracusan design and may descend from the work of Archimedes.
[edit] See also
Astrarium
Astrolabe
Classical planets
[edit] References
^ "The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project", The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project. Retrieved 2007-07-01
^ Washington Post Quote: Imagine tossing a top-notch laptop into the sea, leaving scientists from a foreign culture to scratch their heads over its corroded remains centuries later. A Roman shipmaster inadvertently did something just like it 2,000 years ago off southern Greece, experts said late Thursday.
^ pp. 5–8, Gears from the Greeks. The Antikythera Mechanism: A Calendar Computer from ca. 80 B. C., Derek de Solla Price, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series, 64, #7 (1974), pp. 1–70.
^ a b In search of lost time, Jo Marchant, Nature 444, #7119 (November 30, 2006), pp. 534–538, doi:10.1038/444534a.
^ Lazos, Christos (1994). The Antikythera Computer (Ο ΥΠΟΛΟΓΙΣΤΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΤΙΚΥΘΗΡΩΝ),. ΑΙΟΛΟΣ PUBLICATIONS GR.
^ Johnston, Ian (30 November 2006). "Device that let Greeks decode solar system". The Scotsman. http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1774262006. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
^ a b The Guardian Mysteries of computer from 65BC are solved Quote: This device is extraordinary, the only thing of its kind," said Professor Edmunds. "The astronomy is exactly right ... in terms of historic and scarcity value, I have to regard this mechanism as being more valuable than the Mona Lisa." and One of the remaining mysteries is why the Greek technology invented for the machine seemed to disappear.
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ "Ancient 'computer' starts to yield secrets". http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=588&art_id=vn20060606235853817C767629. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ Does it favor a Heliocentric, or Geocentric Universe?
^ "BBC NEWS Science/Nature Olympic link to early 'computer'", BBC NEWS Science/Nature Olympic link to early 'computer'. Retrieved 2008-12-15
^ Freeth, T; Alexander, J, Steele, JM, Bitsakis, Y (July 31, 2008). "Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism". Nature 454: 614–617. doi:10.1038/nature07130. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7204/abs/nature07130.html.
^ Connor, S. (31 July 2008). "Ancient Device Was Used To Predict Olympic Games". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ancient-device-was-used-to-predict-olympic-dates-881400.html.
^ Wilford, J. N. (31 July 2008). "Discovering How Greeks Computed in 100 B C". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/science/31computer.html.
^ "M. TVLLI CICERONIS DE RE PVBLICA LIBER PRIMVS". http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/repub1.shtml#21. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ Spheres and Planetaria (Introduction)
^ BBC NEWS Science/Nature Ancient Moon 'computer' revisited
^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 285.
^ Andre Sleeswyk, "Vitruvius' odometer," Scientific American, vol. 252, no. 4, pages 188-200 (October 1981). See also: Andre Wegener Sleeswyk, "Vitruvius' waywiser," Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences, vol. 29, pages 11-22 (1979).
^ "Cicero, De Natura Deorum II.88 (or 33-34)". http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/nd2.shtml#88. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ Archaeology: High tech from Ancient Greece, François Charette, Nature 444, #7119 (November 30, 2006), pp. 551-552, doi:10.1038/444551a.
^ a b Early mathematical wheelwork: Byzantine calendrical gearing, Francis Maddison, Nature 314 (March 28, 1985), pp. 316–317, doi:10.1038/314316b0.
^ James, Peter; Thorpe, Nick (1995). Ancient Inventions. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-40102-6.
^ Marchant, Jo (2006). "In search of lost time". Nature 444: 534–538. doi:10.1038/444534a.
^ Price, D. de S. (1955). "Clockwork before the Clock (a)". Horological Journal 97: 811–814.
^ Price, D. de S. (1956). "Clockwork before the Clock (b)". Horological Journal 98: 31–35.
^ Gears from the Greeks. The Antikythera Mechanism: A Calendar Computer from ca. 80 B. C., Derek de Solla Price, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series, 64, #7 (1974), pp. 1–70.
^ a b Wright, M T.; Bromley, A. G., & Magkou, E (1995). "Simple X-ray Tomography and the Antikythera Mechanism". PACT (Revue du groupe européen d'études pour les techniques physiques, chimiques, biologiques et mathématiques appliquées à l'archéologie or Journal of the European Study Group on Physical, Chemical, Biological and Mathematical Techniques Applied to Archaeology) 45: 531–543.
^ Wright, M T.; Bromley, A. G. (4 – 7 September 1997). "Current Work on the Antikythera Mechanism". Proc. Conf. Αρχαία Ελληνική Τεχνολογία (Ancient Greek Technology). Thessaloniki. pp. 19–25.
^ Wright, M T.; Bromley, A. G. (August 2001). "Towards a New Reconstruction of the Antikythera Mechanism". Proc. Conf. Extraordinary Machines and Structures in Antiquity. Ancient Olympiai. pp. 81–94. ed. S.A. Paipetis, Peri Technon, Patras 2003.
^ a b Wright, M T. (July 2002). "In the Steps of the Master Mechanic". Proc. Conf. Η Αρχαία Ελλάδα και ο Σύγχρονος Κόσμος (Ancient Greece and the Modern World). Ancient Olympiai. pp. 86–97. University of Patras 2003.
^ Wright, M T. (2002). "A Planetarium Display for the Antikythera Mechanism (a)". Horological Journal 144 (5 (May 2002)): 169–173.
^ Wright, M T. (2002). "A Planetarium Display for the Antikythera Mechanism (b)". Horological Journal 144 (6 (June 2002)): 193.
^ a b Wright, M T. (2005). "The Antikythera Mechanism and the early history of the Moon Phase Display". Antiquarian Horology 29 (3 (March 2006)): 319 – 329.
^ Wright, M T. (2004). "The Scholar, the Mechanic and the Antikythera Mechanism". Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 80 (March 2004): 4–11.
^ Wright, M T. (2005). "The Antikythera Mechanism: a New Gearing Scheme". Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 85 (June 2005): 2–7.
^ a b c d e Wright, M T. (2005). "Counting Months and Years: the Upper Back Dial of the Antikythera Mechanism". Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 87 (December 2005) (1 (September 2005)): 8–13.
^ Wright, M T. (October 2005). "Understanding the Antikythera Mechanism". Proc. Conf. Αρχαία Ελληνική Τεχνολογία (Ancient Greek Technology). Athensi. in preparation (Preprint)
^ Wright, M T. (2005). "Epicyclic Gearing and the Antikythera Mechanism, part 2". Antiquarian Horology 29 (1 (September 2005)): 54–60.
^ Wright, M T., "Il meccanismo di Anticitera: l'antica tradizione dei meccanismi ad ingranaggio" (The Antikythera Mechanism: evidence for an ancient tradition of the making of geared instruments), in: E. Lo Sardo (ed.), Eureka! Il genio degli antichi, Naples, July 2005 – January 2006), Electa Napoli 2005, pp. 241 – 244.
^ Wright, M T. (2004). "Il meccanismo di Anticitera: l'antica tradizione dei meccanismi ad ingranaggio (The Antikythera Mechanism: evidence for an ancient tradition of the making of geared instruments)". Αρχαιολογία & Τέχνες 95 (June 2005): 54–60.
^ Wright, M T. (2005). "Ο Μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων (The Antikythera Mechanism)". Αρχαιολογία & Τέχνες 95 (June 2005): 54–60.
^ Wright, M T. (2003). "Epicyclic Gearing and the Antikythera Mechanism, part 1". Antiquarian Horology 27 (March 2003) (3): 270–279.
^ a b "The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project". http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ "X-Tek Systems". http://www.xtekxray.com/. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ "National Bank of Greece, Cultural Foundation". http://www.miet.gr/web/en/archive/default.htm. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ "Interactive Relighting of the Antikythera Mechanism". http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/ptm/antikythera_mechanism/index.html. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
^ Freeth, Tony; Y. Bitsakis, X. Moussas..., and M.G. Edmunds (November 30, 2006). "Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism". Nature 444: 587–591. doi:10.1038/nature05357. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7119/abs/nature05357.html.
^ Freeth, Tony; Jones, Alexander; Steele, John M.; Bitsakis, Yanis (July 31, 2008). "Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism". Nature 454: 614–617. doi:10.1038/nature07130. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7204/full/nature07130.html.
[edit] Further reading
Books
Bromley, J. P. (1993). in Die Rolle der Astronomie in den Kulturen Mesopotamiens (ed. Galter, H. D.). Graz: rm-Druck & Vergansgesellschaft. pp. 61–67.
Cary, M. A. (1970). History of Rome. London: Macmillan. pp. 334.
James, Peter; Thorpe, Nick (1995). Ancient Inventions. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-40102-6.
Marchant, Jo (6 Nov 2008). Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer. William Heinemann Ltd.. ISBN 043401835X.
Marchant, Jo (2009). Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306817427.
Price, Derek J. de Solla (1975). Gears from the Greeks: The Antikythera Mechanism — A Calendar Computer from ca. 80 BC. New York: Science History Publications. ISBN 0-87169-647-9.
Rosheim, Mark E. (1994). Robot Evolution: The Development of Anthrobotics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-02622-0..
Russo, Lucio (2004). The Forgotten Revolution: How Science Was Born in 300 BC and Why It Had To Be Reborn. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 3-540-20396-6..
Steele, J. M. (2000). Observations and Predictions of Eclipse Times by Early Astronomers. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
Steele, J. M.. (1994). Robot Evolution: The Development of Anthrobotics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-02622-0..
Stephenson, F. R. (1997). Historical Eclipses and the Earth's Rotation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Toomer, G. J. (1998). Ptolemy's Almagest (trans. Toomer, G. J.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Univ. Press.
Journals
Britton. (1985). "The Design of Astronomical Gear Trains". Horological Journal 128 (6): 19–23.
Bromley, A. G. (1986). "The Design of Astronomical Gear Trains (b)". Horological Journal 128 (9): 10–11.
Bromley, A. G. (1986). "Notes on the Antikythera Mechanism". Centaurus 29: 5. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0498.1986.tb00877.x.
Bromley, A. G. (1990). "The Antikythera Mechanism". Horological Journal 132: 412–415.
Bromley, A. G. (1990). "The Antikythera Mechanism: A Reconstruction". Horological Journal 133 (1): 28–31.
Bromley, A. G. (1990). "Observations of the Antikythera Mechanism". Antiquarian Horology 18 (6): 641–652.
Charette, François (2006). "High tech from Ancient Greece". Nature 444: 551–552. doi:10.1038/444551a.
Edmunds, Mike & Morgan, Philip (2000). "The Antikythera Mechanism: Still a Mystery of Greek Astronomy". Astronomy & Geophysics 41: 6–10. doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2000.41610.x. (The authors mention that an "extended account" of their researches titled "Computing Aphrodite" is forthcoming in 2001, but it does not seem to have appeared as of yet.)
Freeth, T. (2002). "The Antikythera Mechanism: 1. Challenging the Classic Research". Mediterranean Archeology and Archeaometry 2 (1): 21–35.
Freeth, T. (2002). "The Antikyhera Mechanism: 2. Is it Posidonius’ Orrery?". Mediterranean Archeology and Archeaometry 2 (2): 45–58.
Freeth, T. (2009). "Decoding an Ancient Computer". Scientific American 301 (6): 76–83.
Freeth, T.; Bitsakis, Y., Moussas, X., Seiradakis, J. H., Tselikas, A., Mankou, E., Zafeiropulou, M., Hadland, R., Bate, D., Ramsey, A., Allen, M., Crawley, A., Hockley, P., Malzbender, T., Gelb, D., Ambrisco, W., & Edmunds, M. G. (2006). "Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism". Nature 444: 587–591. doi:10.1038/nature05357.
Jones, A. (1991). "The adaptation of Babylonian methods in Greek numerical astronomy". Isis 82: 440–453. doi:10.1086/355836.
Morris, L.R. (1984). "Derek de Solla Price and the Antikythera Mechanism: An Appreciation". IEEE Micro 4: 15–21. doi:10.1109/MM.1984.291304.
Price, D. de S. (1959). "An Ancient Greek Computer". Scientific American 200 (6): 60–67. see "An Ancient Greek Computer
Price, D. de S. (1974). "Gears from the Greeks: The Antkythera Mechanism – A Calendar Computer from ca 80BC". Trans Am Philos. Soc., New Series 64 (7): 1–70.
Price, D. de S. (1984). "A History of Calculating Machines". IEEE Micro 4: 22–52. doi:10.1109/MM.1984.291305.
Spinellis, Diomidis (May 2008). "The Antikythera Mechanism: A Computer Science Perspective". Computer 41 (5): 22–27. doi:10.1109/MC.2008.166. http://www.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/pubs/jrnl/2008-Computer-Antikythera/html/Spi08d.htm.
Steele, J. M. (2000). "Eclipse prediction in Mesopotamia". Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. 54: 421–454. doi:10.1007/s004070050007.
Weinberg, G. D.; Grace, V. R., Edwards, G. R., Robinson, H. S;, Throckmorton, P., & Ralph, E. K. (1965). "The Antikythera Shipwreck Reconsidered". Trans Am Philos. Soc. 55 (New Series) (3): 3–48. doi:10.2307/1005929.
Zeeman, E. C., (1986). "Gears From The Ancient Greeks". Proc. Roy. Inst. GB 58: 137–156. (See also the slides from a lecture here [3], slide 22 is a view of how the mechanism for a model comes to replace actual reality).
Other
Cousteau, Jacques. (1978). The Cousteau Odyssey: Diving for Roman Plunder. [Tape]. Warner Home Video/KCET, Los Angeles.
Hellenic Ministry of Culture and the National Archaeological Museum, The Antikythera Research Project
Rice, Rob S. (4 – 7 September 1997). "Physical and Intellectual Salvage from the 1st Century BC". USNA Eleventh Naval History Symposium. Thessaloniki. pp. 19–25. see The Antikythera Mechanism
Russell, Rupert, The Antikythera Mechanism
[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Linkage (Antikythera Mechanism)
National Hellenic Research Foundation
Jo Marchant, Archimedes and the 2000-year-old computer New Scientist, December 12, 2008
2000-year-old computer recreated video of how the device works, from New Scientist on YouTube, December 12, 2008
Jo Marchant, Decoding the Heavens with video
The Heavens of Poseidon article written in Greek and English languages by John A. Koulouris,(Esq.) for Mythopedia / IN NOMINE Portal (Athens, Greece), regarding the discovery, history, research chronology, and Antikythera Mechanism Research Project.
Minicomputer Systems textbook (1979) by Richard H. Eckhouse and L. Robert Morris, featuring the de Solla Price version of the Antikythera mechanism's gears on the front cover and a system description on the back.
Impact of Antikythera The complexity of the Antikythera mechanism has intrigued the minds of many engineers and scientists from diverse fields. University of Macedonia, Department of Economic and Social Studies website, compiled by Manos Roumeliotis. Updated to November 25, 2009.
"Discovering How Greeks Computed in 100 B.C.". NY Times. 31 July 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/science/31computer.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin.
USATODAY article 2008-07-30
Video Feature Nature, July 30, 2008
"Olympic link to early 'computer'". BBC News. 30 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7533457.stm.
Cox, John (29 November 2007). "Decoding the 2,000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism". Network World. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/112706-antikythera-slides.html.
Cox, John (26 November 2007). "Follow-up: Details of the Antikythera Mechanism mysteries unveiled". Network World. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/112906-ancient-calendar-details.html.
Seabrook, John (14 May 2007). "Fragmentary Knowledge". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/14/070514fa_fact_seabrook.
Wilford, John Noble (29 November 2006). "An Ancient Computer Surprises Scientists". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/science/30computecnd.html?hp&ex=1164862800&en=d7d28d698786f28d&ei=5094&partner=homepage. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
Wilford, John Noble (30 November 2006). "Early Astronomical ‘Computer’ Found to Be Technically Complex". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/science/30compute.html?ex=1322542800&en=088bd939ca75fbbb&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
"Antikythera Mechanism". John H. Lienhard. The Engines of Our Ingenuity. NPR. KUHF-FM Houston. 1995. No. 1031. Transcript.
Price, Derek J. de Solla.. "Geartrain diagram". http://www.horology.com/htu-anti.html.
"Decoding an ancient computer". http://news.com.com/Photos+Decoding+an+ancient+computer/2300-11397_3-6139721.html?tag=nefd.ledeNews.com.com.
Pastore, Giovanni (2006). "ANTIKYTHERA E I REGOLI CALCOLATORI". http://www.giovannipastore.it/ISTRUZIONI.htm.
Phillips, Tony.. "The Antikythera Mechanism I". http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/whatsnew/column/antikytheraI-0400/kyth1.html.
Phillips, Tony.. "The Antikythera Mechanism II". http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/whatsnew/column/antikytheraII-0500/diff1.html.
Bill Casselman. "Java Animation". http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/whatsnew/column/antikytheraI-0400/kyth5.html.
Tatjana van Vark. "Essence of the Antikythera Mechanism". http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/antikythera/.
"The Antikythera Calculator (Italian and English versions)". http://www.giovannipastore.it/ANTIKYTHERA.htm.
"The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project". http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/.
"Provisional translation of the text inscribed on the mechanism" (PDF). http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7119/extref/nature05357-s1.pdf.
"An emulator of the Antikythera Mechanism, under Squeak EToys". http://www.spinellis.gr/sw/ameso/.
"Unearthing Mysteries (audio)". BBC Radio 4. 12 December 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/unearthingmysteries.shtml.
"Article in The Times on results published in "Nature"". http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2478493,00.html.
Roumeliotis, Manos. "Antikythera Mechanism MOV files". http://www.etl.uom.gr/mr/index.php?mypage=antikythera_ani.
"Photographs of the mechanism's exhibit at the National Museum of Archaeology in Athens". http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Greek-Archae-Astr-Antikythera.htm.
"Mr Michael Wright - staff page at Imperial College, London". http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/historyofscience/aboutthecentre/staff/mr%20michael%20wright.
"Rien van de Wijgaert -- Photographs Antikythera Mechanism 2002". http://www.astro.rug.nl/~weygaert/antikytheramechanism.html.
"Ancient Greek star calculator finally yields up its secrets.". Irish Independent News. http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=27&si=1732604&issue_id=14944.
"BBC News - Ancient Moon 'computer' revisited". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6191462.stm.
"Preview of research results announced at Athens conference". 30 November 2006. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/112706widernet.html.
"Report includes six slides, indexed.". 26 November 2006. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/112706-antikythera-slide-index.html.
"Google Maps satellite image of relevant part of Mediterranean". http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=35.86457,23.302002&spn=1.62929,2.905884.
"HP imaging helps scientists figure out world's oldest mechanical calculator". San Francisco Chronicle. 30 November 2006. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/30/BUGAGMLGMM43.DTL.
"Hero of the Industrial Revolution - an alternative history story featuring the Antikythera computer". http://www.changingthetimes.net/samples/0to9/hero.htm.
"Mysteries of computer of 65BC are solved". The Guardian. 30 November 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1960316,00.html.
"Compendium article combines an article from the The Economist with a Scientific American article.". http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_4.htm.
Jay Garmon. "Geek Trivia: Ahead of its time(piece) - What ancient shipwreck artifact suggests the ancient Greeks could build complex clockwork devices?". TechRepublic. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10881_11-6083445.html.
"Decoding an ancient computer - Photos of the Antikythera Mechanism". TechRepublic. http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-10877_11-38336-1.html.
Weijgaert, R. van der, (2005). "A Greek Time Machine". http://www.engine-magazin.de/.
Rice, Rob S. (1993). "Gears, Galleys, and Geography - The Antikythera Mechanism's Implications (Text of the 1993 APA Abstract)". http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rrice/apagadgt.html.
Rice, Rob S. (1995). "The Antikythera Mechanism: Physical and Intellectual Salvage from the 1st Century B.C.". New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Eleventh Annual Naval History Symposium. Naval Institute Press. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rrice/usna_pap.html.
"Enigma of ancient computer solved". Cosmos Magazine. 30 November 2006. http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/889.
"Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2006 December 5". NASA APOD Site. 5 December 2006. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061205.html.
M.T. Wright. "The Antikythera Mechanism reconsidered (2007)." (PDF). http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/pls/portallive/docs/1/24853696.PDF.
YAAS-Yet Another Antikythera Simulator. A 3D Simulator in VRML
[hide]
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Works
Almagest (Ptolemy) · On Sizes and Distances (Hipparchus) · On the Sizes and Distances (Aristarchus) · On the Heavens (Aristotle)
Instruments
Antikythera mechanism · Armillary sphere · Astrolabe · Dioptra · Equatorial ring · Gnomon · Mural quadrant · Triquetrum
Concepts
Callippic cycle · Celestial spheres · Circle of latitude · Counter-Earth · Deferent and epicycle · Equant · Geocentrism · Heliocentrism · Hipparchic cycle · Metonic cycle · Octaeteris · Solstice · Spherical Earth · Sublunary sphere · Zodiac
Influences
Babylonian astronomy · Egyptian astronomy
Influenced
European astronomy · Indian astronomy · Islamic astronomy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism"
Categories: Ancient astronomy Ancient Greek astronomy Ancient Greek science Archaeoastronomy Archaeological artefacts History of astrology History of astronomy Mechanical calculators Astronomical instruments Analog computers Mechanical computers Hellenistic engineering Early computers One-of-a-kind computers
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