A Lego Replica of the Antikythera Mechanism 74
A user writes "The Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest known scientific computer, built in Greece at around 100 BCE. Lost for 2000 years, it was recovered from a shipwreck in 1901. But not until a century later was its purpose understood: an astronomical clock that determines the positions of celestial bodies with extraordinary precision. In 2010, a fully-functional replica out of Lego (YouTube video) was built."
Re:I must have this!! (Score:5, Informative)
NOT a replica (Score:2, Informative)
it's an implementation of the same math that that the Antikythera mechanism does but it's done in a completely different fashion.
Woz explains the device on his own page as well as the math behind it: http://acarol.woz.org/antikythera_mechanism.html [woz.org]
There is also an article about his LEGO device: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662831/how-one-engineer-redesigned-an-ancient-greek-mechanical-computer-out-of-legos [fastcodesign.com]
more information about the Antikythera mechanism can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism [wikipedia.org]
Re:I must have this!! (Score:5, Informative)
Because it would be difficult to fit the information for 223 lunar months in a single rotation of a dial, the original machine used a 5 wind spiral to encode the information. This made more space available for the markings required for the eclipse information.
My version of the machine uses a 4 wind spiral. This provides the same benefit as a 5 wind spiral but matches the Full Moon Cycle which may permit future enhancements to accuracy.
This change results in the formula:
Saros4 = Y * 4 * 235 / (223 * 19)
I decided to not use the Corinthian calendar and instead use the standard Gregorian civil calendar in a four wind spiral representing the four year leap year cycle.
Noting that 235 is 5 * 47 and 254 is 2 * 127, the important constants for the construction are:
4, 5, 19, 47, 127, and 223.
The readily available high quality LEGO gear ratios are combinations of 1, 3, and 5. With some challenge 4 is available. With these combinations we can get to gear ratios which are multiplicative combinations of these values. The easy ratios we can get to include: 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15, 20, 25, 27, etc.
Ratios of 19, 47, 127, and 223 are impossible to achieve with simple gear ratios because they are prime numbers. We have to look beyond simple gears to differentials.