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Modern Reconstruction Research

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Decoding the Mechanisms of Antikythera Astronomical Device

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Abstract

All decoded information of the Antikythera device has been studied through hard investigations for a long time. Scholars in the time of the discovery failed to explain how this device can be operated. It was really puzzling trying to figure out what this device with the complicated mechanisms and the fine elements was. The fragmentary excavation, the sophisticated mechanical designs, and the immature technology make the device more mysterious. These mysterious characteristics have attracted scholars to decode and reconstruct such an ancient invention for more than 110 years. The knowledge about Antikythera device is attributed to a number of individuals and research groups, who have focused on the restoring research, such as A. Rehm, D. Price, A.G. Bromley, M. Edmund, P. Morgan, M. Wright, T. Freeth et al., Lin and Yan, etc. In addition, more and more researchers invest their professional knowledge in decoding the device. In this chapter, historical developments of the reconstruction research of Antikythera device are introduced. Research results and contributions in different periods are presented. Various reconstruction designs are compared. And, their differences are identified clearly with the known design of Antikythera device.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Jian-Liang Lin & Hong-Sen Yan

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  1. Jian-Liang Lin
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  2. Hong-Sen Yan
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Correspondence to Jian-Liang Lin .

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Lin, JL., Yan, HS. (2016). Modern Reconstruction Research. In: Decoding the Mechanisms of Antikythera Astronomical Device. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48447-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48447-0_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-48445-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-48447-0

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