World's oldest computer is even older thought, findings suggest it may be as old as 205 BC

World's oldest computer is even older thought, findings suggest it may be as old as 205 BC
World's oldest computer is even older thought, findings suggest it may be as old as 205 BC
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The News Minute | November 30, 2014 | 2:30 pm ISTAntikythera Mechanism, the world's oldest computer, is even 100 years older than scientists previously thought, say Argentinian researchers.Discovered from a Roman cargo shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, the bronze device was used to track the movements of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.The device provides a wealth of astronomical information and offers practically the only possibility for a close astronomical dating of the mechanism, the New York Times reported.The device was discovered in a wooden box and consists of bronze dials, gears and cogs.The complex device, made up of up to 40 bronze cogs and gears, was used in ancient times to track the cycles of the solar system.On the back were two further dials displaying information about lunar cycles and eclipses.The calculator would have been driven by a hand crank.Previous radiocarbon dating analysis of the remarkable mechanism had provided a later construction date of around 100 to 150 BC.But the latest findings suggest it could be much older as it includes a solar eclipse that happened on May 12, 205 B.C.The findings were detailed in the journal Archive for History of Exact Sciences.With IANS

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