The first mechanical computing device was built on analog principles that were primarily used in order to facilitate provision of information regarding the astronomical positions. It was discovered in the year 1900-01 from the wreck of Antikythera.The Antikythera mechanism is at present kept in the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens. It is considered as one of the most complex antiques existing in the present era. It took a lot of time to understand the device’s complexity and its importance.

Construction and Accuracy

Regarding the device’s construction and accuracy, it can be stated that they are just perfect and extraordinary. It was a thin device made of bronze.  The device was inscribed with at most 2000 characters and it was built up in a wooden frame. Its construction is estimated to be dated back to 150-200 BC. The researchers are astonished by the device and some even rank it higher than the Monalisa in terms of its historical significance. The mechanism gives an impression that it was designed with great precision using the concepts of mathematics and astronomy that were developed by the Greek astrologers.

It seems odd but the kind of complexity and the size compaction that the device displays can be easily compared with the clocks manufactured in the 17th century. The device is made up of a number of gears more than 30 in number and teeth that together form an equilateral triangle. It is supposed that when the date was entered with the help of a crank (that is now lost), the device computed and displayed the positions of the sun, the moon and other astronomical bodies such as planets.

Purposes of the device

The device was designed to follow the movement of the planets and it was utilized as a type of mechanical calendar. Some other functions of the device are as follows:

• A star almanac which gave an idea about the movement of several constellations of the Greek zodiac across the sky
• Forecast of lunar and solar eclipses
• A 365 day calendar
• Calculate the accuracy of a slide rule
• Plot the synodic and sideral lunar cycles, angular velocities, etc
• Shows the position of the planets and moon when a date is entered
• Calculate the distance of the moon, sun, and stars from the observer on the earth’s surface

Since its discovery the device has been a talking point for the historians in the field of science and technology, a large number of research works and projects have been conducted regarding its construction and significance. The innovations of the past have always kept the modern day scientists guessing and this mechanism is no exception to that.