The concepts of the past and the future are still a subject that continues to be discussed today. It is a fact that an era has a future in the era we live in now. However, some of the remains show that many of the tools we use today were also used thousands of years ago.
The first years of many items still used today, such as rings, shoes, guns, bowls, calendars, and painting palettes, date back to prehistoric times. Although what we have counted so far is surprising enough, a computer has been added to these items. The purpose and date of operation of this computer is quite surprising.
The first computer was operated in 178 BC
Although technological tools have gone through a long adventure to reach their current state, some of them were very difficult in the years they first appeared. We know that it is used in different fields. Just like the computer found by divers last year near the Greek island of Antikythera. Researchers have been studying parts of Antikythera, which they didn’t even know were computers at first, since it was first discovered. These reviews finally paid off today. The submerged parts of the computer were assembled and its working mechanism studied, and the results were published in the journal arXiv.
Looking at the working mechanism of the computer, it was determined that it could have been used to predict eclipses, and it remained to determine the date of its first operation. At the beginning of the investigations, the researchers thought that the computer might have been put into operation for the first time in 204 BC. However, given the absolute zero temperature of the computer’s Kelvin scale, it has been suggested that this date may be December 22, 178 BC. Of course, they had to have a lot of evidence to give this date so clearly, and they did, because December 22, 178 BC was a very interesting day because a lot of things had happened that day.
Solar eclipse, the beginning of the lunar phases and many events that occurred on the same day
In order to determine the date of the first operation, the researchers considered the events that may have taken place in those years. One of the main reasons for focusing on the date of December 22, 178 BC was the solar eclipse, which lasted for 12 minutes. However, the beginning date of the phases of the Moon and the festival held in the name of the Egyptian goddess Isis and celebrated by the Egyptian and Greek people also coincided with the same date. At the same time, since the winter solstice also coincides with the date of December 23, it was thought that these situations showed their effects on the Antikythera mechanism.
In addition to all these, when the method of use of the mechanism was examined, it was revealed that it had to be used many times after the first operation date in order to obtain more accurate data. For this reason, the researchers state that even if the mechanism has been handed down from generation to generation, the date of its first operation is of great importance and it is highly likely that this date has been used on the device many times. However, it is said that this mechanism may have many unexplored uses and research will continue.
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