LETTERS.(Letter to the Editor)

Modern Uses for Ancient Machines

I was intrigued by your description of the ancient computer called the Antikythera mechanism in the article "Grecian Gears" on pg. 58 of the February 2001 issue. I'd seen an earlier television program on the subject, but readily available information seemed to have been deliberately left out to make the mechanism appear more mysterious.

Clearly from both an engineering and historical basis, this computer was an important development and I would like to "see" how the thing actually worked. Words just don't do it in this case.

You may also be interested to note that in recent years, Soviet patrol boats in the East German Navy were found to have sophisticated magnetic "stealth' equipment on board, as well as "mechanical computers" (perhaps not unlike the Antikythera mechanism) that would have been used to aim missiles. This technology was initially dismissed as obsolete. However, as those with calmer minds pointed out later, these mechanical computers would not suffer from power failures, as did the British Navy's in the Falklands War, and they would also be electromagnetic pulse (EMP) proof. So, this ancient invention may still have a place in modern times and is worthy of further investigation.

Joseph Clawson McLean, Virginia

Editor's Note:

Adonis Kotsias's animation of the Antikythera mechanism is available for viewing in the Community/Customer Story section of the Softimage Web site at www.softimage.com. Search on "Antikythera."