Astrophysics has just solved the question of the Antikythera mechanism, a 2,200-year-old computer.
He Antikythera mechanism It is a computational model that never ceases to hold mysteries within its analog structure. Scientists from various fields have studied it for more than a century. There is a clear limit to understanding the complexity of this invention: a noticeable lack of detail and documentation. However, in 2024, the uncertainty of the object is not an obstacle to studying its nature. Sophisticated probabilistic methods have already emerged in the last decade with successful results. Two astrophysicists from the University of Glasgow have used their experience studying gravitational waves in the universe to uncover some of the mysteries of this mechanism, which dates back to the 2nd century BC. V.
By consensus, The Antikythera mechanism is considered an astronomical machine.. Computer developers used it to predict eclipses, demonstrate planetary cycles, plan lunar phases, chart the course of the seasons, and determine the date of the Olympic Games. What a silicon microchip now calculates was done in ancient times using screws, wheels and gears.
The invention recently underwent extensive X-ray analysis to reveal micro-details that go undetected by the naked eye. During the study, holes were discovered associated with information rings. Due to the analogue nature of the movement, it is necessary for each part of the movement to be connected to each other, just like in a wind-up watch. Under calendar ring Antikythera has artificial perforations that suggest the existence of more sources of information.
The calendar ring is broken, and it is impossible to know how many holes there are in total. Accurate information on the number of perforations is needed to determine the type of ring it follows, and therefore the type of information the Antikythera mechanism could predict. An X-ray study conducted in 2020 estimated the number of holes to be between 347 and 367. Historians had to find chronological or astronomical scales that would fit the estimated range.
Although the range is small, there are two important hypotheses that correspond to the number of proposed perforations: the next ring could determine the lunar calendar or the calendar used in Egypt. Research has tended to the possibility of obtaining lunar information. However, any inclinations have gone into the realm of speculation.
Advances in electronics and technologies for detecting muons (a type of elementary particle) are making new measurements possible in small and hostile spaces such as Chichen Itza.
Advanced Probability: From Universe to Mechanism
Scientists Graham Vaughan and Joseph Bailey decided to bring their own astrophysics to the Antikythera Mechanism. They used statistical modeling techniques used in gravitational wave analysis to estimate the likely number of holes in the broken ring. Vaughan used Bayesian analysis, which calculates the uncertainty of a hypothesis based on the available (usually incomplete) evidence. Bailey, for his part, used Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to obtain a sampling distribution. Both systems are used to determine whether the ripples in the fabric of spacetime, thought to be caused by a violent cosmic collision, are real.
The combination of these advanced statistical methods showed that there should have been 355 holes in a circle with a radius of 77 millimeters. Therefore, Lunar calendar theory gains support“We hope that our findings about this mechanism, although less impressive than Indiana Jones’s discoveries, will help to deepen our understanding of how the Greeks created and used this remarkable device,” Professor Vaughan said.