The Antikythera Mechanism

[ write ] [ Home ] [ Italien || Français || Anglais ]   Foreword Michael T. Wright, that I'm honoured to count between my friends, is an exceptional scientist, who has devoted part of his life to deciphering and re-building an exceptional instrument : the Antikythera mechanism ( II - Ist century BCE).   Little known by non-specialists until the '90s, the device is nowadays often mentioned in radio and TV programs and in newspapers  (Wikipedia). Too many people, however, argue and present their "findings" without referring to the long and minute work of Michael and to the many papers relating it. An attitude even less acceptable when it comes from large, professional teams that dare to underrate the work of a single man. I find it so shameful, that I need to go beyond the Author's will and publish some of his achievements. Hopefully, in the future we'll have a full account of his deductions. Until then, all those interested in the history of Ancient Science can evaluate the quality of his results in these Web pages.   We present here a  a Collection of papers of various authors. The list is non exhaustive. Some papers are unauthorized, although they have all appeared in the Press. They may be withdrawn on request. =============== The year 2009 has seen two important devlopments in MT Wright's work: o    The publication of Jo Marchant's masterly book, "Decoding the Heavens". It relates the century-long efforts and accidents in the reconstruction of the Antikythera Mechanism, and the various characters. o    The request from the Galileo Museum in Florence of a Virtual Model  of the reconstructed mechanism (local copy). It triggered an intense collaboration between MT Wright and Massimo "Mogi" Vicentini of the Milan Planetarium, each of them a master in his own field. As a result, M.T. Wright can now exhibit the only rational mechanical reconstruction of the mechanism, together with the only full blown virtual model. The two models complete each other, inasmuch as a virtual model not supported by a mechanical one is of little value - a point perhaps unclear to other teams. Conversely, the virtual model brings life and clarity to the intricate set of gears and dials.       Page under work...     © F. S. || 4.05. 2012