2011/08/01 by M. G. Edmunds · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Arts and Humanities · Engineering · #Historical Astronomy and Related Studies #Historical and Architectural Studies #Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies #Mechanism (biology) #Calculator #Train #Gear train #Computer science #Engineering #Mechanical engineering #History #Philosophy #Spiral bevel gear #Archaeology #Epistemology
paper · doi:10.1177/002182861104200302
openalex publication_date 2011/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/04/04
The article examines the accuracy of the gear trains of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek device that was possibly used as an astronomical calculator. The author analyzes the placement of the mechanism's gear teeth. Mathematical models of gear train accuracy are provided, with the author noting the standard deviations in the trains. Because of the gear errors present in the Mechanism, the author concludes that it was probably used more for display or education purposes than for actual astronomical calculation.