X-ray tomography of the Antikythera Mechanism

Abstract

An "in-depth" explanation of how X-ray tomography revealed the secrets of the world's most ancient astronomical calculator, this talk will describe how X-Tek Systems Ltd, at the time a small UK-based X-ray company, developed a high resolution, high voltage X-ray source, took an 8-tonne cabinet to Greece and probed the secrets of surely the most fascinating artefact of ancient Greek culture. I will explain how X-ray computed tomography (CT) works, how we were able to see beneath the corrosion, count gear teeth and read inscriptions which had lain unread for 2000 years at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. This paper will cover the following topics: • The history of the Antikythera Mechanism • Who were X-Tek and how did we get involved? • Computed Tomography-What is it? • Why is our CT different to medical CT? • Microfocus X-ray sources - how do we magnify? • High energy X-ray sources - how can we see through metal? • Previous X-ray studies of the Mechanism • What equipment did we use? • How can we see buried features using CT? • The findings⋯ What is the Mechanism?