Free Decoding The Heavens Ebooks To Download
In Decoding the Heavens, Jo Marchant tells for the first time the full story of the 100-year quest to decipher the ancient Greek computer known as the Antikythera Mechanism. Along the way she unearths a diverse cast of remarkable characters and explores the deep roots of modern technology in ancient Greece and the medieval European and Islamic worlds. At its heart, this is an epic adventure and mystery, a book that challenges our assumptions about technology through the ages.
Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 36 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Audible Studios
Audible.com Release Date: February 20, 2014
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B00IK68BH0
Best Sellers Rank: #25 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Science > Astronomy #66 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > History > Ancient #80 in Books > Computers & Technology > History & Culture > History
The "Antikythera Mechanism" has baffled archeologists and scientists for more than a century. Discovered in an ancient Greek shipwreck in 1901 near the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, it is the first known mechanical computer in human history. It is rumored to have been used to calculate astronomical positions, and probably dates to the first century before the Common Era (BCE).The "Antikythera Mechanism" was remarkable in that its many gears betray a complexity not found elsewhere in the ancient Mediterranean world. Not until the high Medieval era would technological artifacts of similar complexity be found. With more than 30 gears, there is some difference of opinion on the number, it had the potential to enter a date and the mechanism could calculate the position of the Sun, Moon, or the other planets. It also had the capability to predict lunar and solar eclipses.Jo Marchant, a well-known journalist and the editor of "New Scientist," has written a fascinating account of the discovery of this remarkable relic, its reconstruction, and the process of discovery of scientists gradually coming to understand its use. Made of bronze and found in pieces on the sea floor, it took considerable time to put it back together and to get it to work.Hundreds of scholars have investigated the "Antikythera Mechanism," and employed high-technology analysis to understand the artifact. Even so, it took a century to unlock its secrets. Michael Wright, curator at the Science Museum in London, worked for more than two decades to build a working model of the artifact, using only tools and methods known to have been available in ancient Greece.
Below is a different review of the same book, which I wrote for 'Antiquarian Horology':JO MARCHANT,Decoding the Heavens :A 2,000-Year-Old Computer and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets, published by Da Capo Press, Cambridge MA, 2009, hardcover. Also available in a UK edition as Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer. Or borrow from the NAWCC Library in Columbia (Members only)Most students of the history of timekeeping machinery will have come across various pieces of information on the Antikythera mechanism in their reading and recall the outline account of its discovery. In the fall of the year 1900, the Greek Captain Dimitros Kontos and his crew of sponge divers stumbled upon a shipwreck from antiquity off the island of Antikythera, and thereby started the science of underwater archeology. In addition to a large number of statues and other artifacts, one recovered item was completely different. It consisted of several fragments of a very complex, geared, bronze mechanism with mysterious inscriptions. Whatever that object was, it was destined to substantially rewrite the history of technology.The book under review is an up-to-date, detailed retelling of the story of this mechanism, its discovery, its interpretation and the search for its function. The author incorporates the discoveries and new theories that have been developed about the Antikythera mechanism during the last several years.Michael Wright, formerly of the London Science Museum, has constructed a new replica and published his findings in this magazine and elsewhere. Regular readers of Antiquarian Horology are probably familiar with his three major articles on the subject in 2003 (Vol. 27, pp. 270-279), 2005 (Vol.29, pp.
Decoding the Heavens Anatomy of the Heavens: God's Message in the Stars The Seer Expanded Edition: The Prophetic Power of Visions, Dreams, and Open Heavens The Three Heavens: Angels, Demons and What Lies Ahead Hiring the Heavens: A Practical Guide to Developing Working Relationships with the Spirits of Creation Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos Hell in the Heavens: Ill-Fated 8th Air Force Bomb Group Missions Hell from the Heavens: The Epic Story of the USS Laffey and World War II's Greatest Kamikaze Attack Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens A Saving Science: Capturing the Heavens in Carolingian Manuscripts Taking Back Astronomy: The Heavens Declare Creation Under the Heavens The Secret Language of Churches & Cathedrals: Decoding the Sacred Symbolism of Christianity's Holy Buildings The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: Decoding Churches, Cathedrals, Temples, Mosques and Other Places of Worship Arou nd the World How to Speak Cat: A Guide to Decoding Cat Language How to Speak Dog: A Guide to Decoding Dog Language Sigma Delta Modulators: Nonlinear Decoding Algorithms and Stability Analysis (The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science) Decoding Your Dog: Explaining Common Dog Behaviors and How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism Decoding Chomsky: Science and Revolutionary Politics
