The oldest computer in the world.

The oldest computer in the world.

The Antikythera Mechanism, sometimes called the "world's oldest computer," is even older than previously thought, according to researchers.

The remarkable astronomical mechanism was discovered in 1901 amongst the wreckage of a Greek ship believed to have sunk sometime between 85 B.C. and 60 B.C., near the island of Antikythera between Crete and Greece.Since its discovery, scholars have marveled at the Antikythera Mechanism, given that its origin appears to predate other devices of equal complexity by as much as a millennium or more, as noted by The New York Times.

"The complex clocklike assembly of bronze gears and display dials predates other known examples of similar technology by more than 1,000 years. It accurately predicted lunar and solar eclipses, as well as solar, lunar and planetary positions," the Times described the ancient mechanism, which measures just about 8 inches across.Previous estimates placed the mechanism's construction at around 125 B.C., but new research pushes that date back further, to 205 B.C., according to Christián Carman of Argentina's National University of Quilmes and James Evans of the University of Puget Sound.In a paper showing up in the Archive for History of Exact Science, Carman and Evans depict how they showed up at the new date. They started by contrasting the "many ways that the Antikythera's obscuration examples could fit Babylonian records" remade by Brown University's John Steele, Evans said in an article distributed by the University of Puget Sound. By interaction of end, the analysts presumed that 205 B.C. was the likeliest date for the system's development. Carman and Evans said their work was made more troublesome by the way that "just about 33% of the Antikythera's shroud indicator is saved." The instrument started self-destructing following it was brought to the surface back in 1901, as depicted in the video underneath.Lately, PC supported examining and investigation methods have made it conceivable to carefully reproduce the Antikythera Mechanism with what researchers accept is extraordinary precision. This has prepared for various new speculations about its starting points and abilities.