[32] This wreck of a Roman cargo ship was found at a depth of 45 metres (148 ft) off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island of Antikythera. In 2008, a team led by Mike Edmunds and Tony Freeth at Cardiff University used modern computer x-ray tomography and high resolution surface scanning to image inside fragments of the crust-encased Mechanism and read the faintest inscriptions that once covered the outer casing of the machine. The exact position and mechanisms for the gears of the planets is not known. It simulated the elliptical movement of the Moon around the Earth with an amazing mechanical gadget, permuting Kepler's 1st … Each meshes with a gear grounded to the mechanism frame. The ship likely sank between 70 B.C. Soon afterward it fractured into three major pieces. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. A bar with a slot along its length extends from the pin toward the appropriate coaxial tube, at whose other end is the object pointer, out in front of the front dials. [28], On 17 May 1902, archaeologist Valerios Stais found that one of the pieces of rock had a gear wheel embedded in it. Because of the large space between the mean Sun gear and the front of the case and the size of and mechanical features on the mean Sun gear it is very likely that the mechanism contained further gearing that either has been lost in or subsequent to the shipwreck or was removed before being loaded onto the ship. As mentioned, the pin/slot driving of the k1/k2 gears varies the displacement over a year's time, and the mounting of those two gears on the e3 gear supplies a precessional advancement to the ellipticity modelling with a period of 8.8826 years, compared with the current value of precession period of the moon of 8.85 years. When a pointer reached the terminal month location at either end of the spiral, the pointer's follower had to be manually moved to the other end of the spiral before proceeding further.[10]:10. The sponge divers salvaged from the ship three flat pieces of corroded bronze that later bec… In addition to this important minor fragment, 15 further minor fragments have remnants of inscriptions on them. [73], Investigations by Freeth and Jones reveal that their simulated mechanism is not particularly accurate, the Mars pointer being up to 38° off at times (these inaccuracies occur at the nodal points of Mars' retrograde motion, and the error recedes at other locations in the orbit). A fully functioning Lego reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism was built in 2010 by hobbyist Andy Carrol, and featured in a short film produced by Small Mammal in 2011. Solar eclipses may not be visible at any given point, and lunar eclipses are visible only if the moon is above the horizon at the appointed hour. [59] The indicator was a small ball embedded in the lunar pointer, half-white and half-black, which rotated to show the phase (new, first quarter, half, third quarter, full, and back) graphically. The modelled rotational period of the Moon pointer (averaged over a year) is 27.321 days, compared to the modern length of a lunar sidereal month of 27.321661 days. The dial also marks the position of the Sun on the ecliptic corresponds to the current date in the year. Other small pieces have broken off in the interim from cleaning and handling,[52] and still others were found on the sea floor by the Cousteau expedition. Two large dials are on the back of the mechanism. [13][14][15], This artefact was retrieved from the sea in 1901, and identified on 17 May 1902 as containing a gear by archaeologist Valerios Stais,[16] among wreckage retrieved from a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera. Of special delight to physicists, the Moon mechanism uses a special train of bronze gears, two of them linked with a slightly offset axis, to indicate the position and phase of the moon. This text described over a hundred mechanical devices, some of which may date back to ancient Greek texts preserved in monasteries. The "natural" view is viewing the side of the Mechanism the dial/pointer in question is actually displayed on. The crank moves the date pointer about 78 days per full rotation, so hitting a particular day on the dial would be easily possible if the mechanism were in good working condition. 6), but the outer calendar dial may be moved against the inner dial to compensate for the effect of the extra quarter-day in the solar year by turning the scale backward one day every four years. The parapegma above the dials reads (square brackets indicate inferred text): At least two pointers indicated positions of bodies upon the ecliptic. Found in 1976 and contains six inscriptions from the upper right of the Saros spiral. It requires a differential gear, a gearing arrangement that sums or differences two angular inputs. In this discussion, reference is to modelled rotational period of various pointers and indicators; they all assume the input rotation of the b1 gear of 360 degrees, corresponding with one tropical year, and are computed solely on the basis of the gear ratios of the gears named. And let the Sun be golden, the Moon silver, Kronos [Saturn] of obsidian, Ares [Mars] of reddish onyx, Aphrodite [Venus] lapis lazuli veined with gold, Hermes [Mercury] turquoise; let Zeus [Jupiter] be of (whitish?) [92] It documents the discovery and 2005 investigation of the mechanism by the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project. The following three Egyptian months are inscribed in Greek letters on the surviving pieces of the outer ring:[57], The other months have been reconstructed, although some reconstructions of the mechanism omit the five days of the Egyptian intercalary month. [69] Their proposal centred on what they observed as irregular spacing of the inscriptions on the front dial face, which to them seemed to indicate an off-centre sun indicator arrangement; this would simplify the mechanism by removing the need to simulate the solar anomaly. The Greeks, being in the northern hemisphere, assumed proper daily motion of the stars was from east to west, ccw when the ecliptic and zodiac is viewed to the south. The Antikythera mechanism was found in a cargo ship that sank around 70 B.C. The major unknown remains the question of the presence and nature of any planet indicators. The gear functions come from Freeth et al. [11] Similar to the inferior systems, each has a gear whose centre pivot is on an extension of b1, and which meshes with a grounded gear. The Moon pointer holds a shaft along its length, on which is mounted a small gear named r, which meshes to the Sun pointer at B0 (the connection between B0 and the rest of B is not visible in the original mechanism, so whether b0 is the current date/mean Sun pointer or a hypothetical true Sun pointer is not known). It is commonly recognized as the first analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes decades in advance. Other inscriptions seem to describe the function of the back dials. Its appearance, however, did not seem to me particularly striking. Based on the above, we suggest that the front dial calendar ring of the Antikythera Mechanism is possibly the first example of the Egyptian civil-based lunar calendar proposed by R. A. Parker in 1950. The Antikythera mechanism is the only known physical survivor of a long tradition of mechanical astronomical displays. Each of the three mechanisms can fit within a quadrant of the b1 extension, and they are thus all on a single plane parallel with the front dial plate. If you're interested, you can check out the videos on building the replica, ancient tool technology, or the research paper presenting the findings. It could also be used to track the four-year cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. The Antikythera mechanism. off the Greek island of Antikythera. There is no coaxial system but only for the Moon. [10]:4–5, 10 The Saros cycle is 18 years and 11.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} 1⁄3 days long (6585.333... days), which is very close to 223 synodic months (6585.3211 days). The fragment also contains inscriptions for the Exeligmos dial and visible on the back surface the remnants of the dial face. The object would come to be known as the Antikythera Mechanism. 181+221) about an "Astrologer's Board", where the astrologer lays out particular stones to represent the Sun, Moon and planets, ClickSpring: Machining The Antikythera Mechanism, Proposed planet indication gearing schemes, "Celestial Gearbox: Oldest Known Computer is a Mechanism Designed to Calculate the Location of the Sun, Moon, and Planets", "Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism", "The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism", "Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism", "The World's Oldest Computer Is Still Revealing Its Secrets", "What is the Antikythera Mechanism? The large upper dial has a five-turn spiral slot with a moving pointer to show the 235 lunations, or synodic months, in the Metonic cycle. Not only is he recreating the mechanism, he's also exploring antique methods and materials that were possibly used. It is a complex clockwork mechanism composed of at least 30 meshing bronze gears. The Antikythera mechanism from 150–100 BC was designed to calculate the positions of astronomical objects. Since Price’s assessment, modern X-ray and 3D mapping technology have allowed scientists to peer deeper into the remains of the mechanism and learn even more of its secrets. Freeth and Jones note that the inevitable "looseness" in the mechanism due to the hand-built gears, with their triangular teeth and the frictions between gears, and in bearing surfaces, probably would have swamped the finer solar and lunar correction mechanisms built into it: Though the engineering was remarkable for its era, recent research indicates that its design conception exceeded the engineering precision of its manufacture by a wide margin—with considerable cumulative inaccuracies in the gear trains, which would have cancelled out many of the subtle anomalies built into its design.[11][74]. Google Doodle marks discovery of ancient Greek computer", "The Antikythera Shipwreck: the Ship, the Treasures, the Mechanism", "Naked Science – Star Clock BC (TV Episode)", "BBC Four – The Two-Thousand-Year-Old Computer", "Small Mammal, Behind the Scenes: Lego Antikythera Mechanism", "Behind The Couch: 'Stonehenge Apocalypse, "Antikythera Element - EVE Online Reference", "The Moon Phase Anomaly in the Antikythera Mechanism", "The Antikythera Mechanism: Still a Mystery of Greek Astronomy", "The Antikythera Mechanism: 1. Many of the smaller fragments that have been found contain nothing of apparent value; however, a few have some inscriptions on them. Antikythera mechanism, ancient Greek mechanical device used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena. It was discovered in … [67] The inscriptions on each one of the four divisions are:[10][13], The Saros dial is the main lower spiral dial on the rear of the mechanism. The modelled rotational period of the Exeligmos pointer is 19,756 days; the modern value is 19755.96 days. The outer scale, which is a moveable ring that sits flush with the surface and runs in a channel, is marked off with what appear to be days and has a series of corresponding holes beneath the ring in the channel. [54], The operator also had to be aware of the position of the spiral dial pointers on the two large dials on the back. [65], The Callippic dial is the left secondary upper dial, which follows a 76-year cycle. THREE IMPORTANT ROMANS MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. The modelled rotational period of the Saros pointer is 1646.3 days (in four rotations along the spiral pointer track); the modern value is 1646.33 days. Time(b) = Time(x) * (c1 / b2) * (d1 / c2) * (e2 / d2) * (k1 / e5) * (e6 / k2) * (b3 / e1), Time(r) = 1 / (1 / Time(b2 [mean sun] or sun3 [true sun])) – (1 / Time(b))), Metonic cycle () / 5 spirals around the dial = 1387.94 days, Time(n) = Time(x) * (l1 / b2) * (m1 /l2) * (n1 / m2), Time(e) = Time(x) * (l1 / b2) * (m1 / l2) * (e3 / m3), Time(g) = Time(e) * (f1 / e4) * (g1 / f2), Time(i) = Time(g) * (h1 / g2) * (i1 / h2), Time(sun3) = Time(x) * (sun3 / sun1) * (sun2 / sun3), Time(mars4) = Time(x) * (mars2 / mars1) * (mars4 / mars3), Time(jup4) = Time(x) * (jup2 / jup1) * (jup4 / jup3), Time(sat4) = Time(x) * (sat2 / sat1) * (sat4 / sat3), ΧΗΛΑΙ (Chelai [Scorpio's Claw or Zygos], Libra), ΑΙΓΟΚΕΡΩΣ (Aigokeros [Goat-horned], Capricorn), ΥΔΡΟΧΟΟΣ (Hydrokhoos [Water carrier], Aquarius), Blank or o ? Similar technological works later appeared in the medieval Byzantine and Islamic worlds, but works with similar complexity did not appear again until the development of mechanical astronomical clocks in Europe in the fourteenth century. The Antikythera Mechanism, itself, is extremely fragile, and since it was brought here, more than 100 years ago, it's never moved from this museum. That afterwards Eudoxus of Cnidus, a disciple of Plato, had traced on its surface the stars that appear in the sky, and that many years subsequent, borrowing from Eudoxus this beautiful design and representation, Aratus had illustrated them in his verses, not by any science of astronomy, but the ornament of poetic description. The pointer points to the synodic month, counted from new moon to new moon, and the cell contains the Corinthian month names.[13][63][64]. On one of its fragments is written "76 years, 19 years" representing the Callippic and Metonic cycles. [89] A documentary, The World's First Computer, was produced in 2012 by the Antikythera mechanism researcher and film-maker Tony Freeth. [90] In 2012 BBC Four aired The Two-Thousand-Year-Old Computer;[91] it was also aired on 3 April 2013 in the United States on NOVA, the PBS science series, under the name Ancient Computer. Thus, setting the correct solar time (in days) on the front panel indicates the current lunar month on the back panel, with resolution to within a week or so. The two gears have different centres of rotation, so the pin must move back and forth in the slot. The widespread existence of such devices can be inferred from references in Greco-Roman literature, particularly in the descriptions left by Marcus Tullius Cicero (1st century bce), that stretch from Archimedes (3rd century bce) to a poetic reference in the late 4th or early 5th century ce. Finally, this fragment contains some back door inscriptions. He initially believed that it was an astronomical clock, but most scholars considered the device to be prochronistic, too complex to have been constructed during the same period as the other pieces that had been discovered. [85] In the Islamic world, Banū Mūsā's Kitab al-Hiyal, or Book of Ingenious Devices, was commissioned by the Caliph of Baghdad in the early 9th century AD. The months are marked with the Egyptian names for the months transcribed into the Greek alphabet. Antikythera Mechanism discovered in shipwreck 115 years ago. A combination of fragments taken from fragment C while cleaning. Thus the basic operation of the device is no longer a mystery and has been replicated accurately. [10]:11, The Metonic Dial is the main upper dial on the rear of the mechanism. He mentions a quote from an ancient papyrus: ...a voice comes to you speaking. The Antikythera mechanism (/ˌæntɪkɪˈθɪərə/ AN-tə-kə-THEER-ə) is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the first analogue computer,[1] the oldest known example of such a device[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes decades in advance. Some of the abbreviations in the glyphs read:[citation needed], The glyphs show whether the designated eclipse is solar or lunar, and give the day of the month and hour. The next day, they went diving near the island and discovered a 2,000-year-old Greek shipwreck, according to NOVA. The Mechanism Structure and Features Since its salvage in 1900–1, the more than 2000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism has proven to be an extraordinary addition to the archaeological record, requiring radical revision of the history of technology.2 The extant artefact The mechanism appeared at the time to be little more than a lump of corroded bronze and wood; it went unnoticed for two years, while museum staff worked on piecing together more obvious treasures, such as the statues. The rest so far are assumed from knowledge of the. on a voyage from Asia Minor to Rome. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes decades in advance. The purpose of the front face was to position astronomical bodies with respect to the celestial sphere along the ecliptic, in reference to the observer's position on the Earth. Thus there is one new grounded gear (one was identified in the wreckage, and the second is shared by two of the planets), one gear used to reverse the direction of the sun anomaly, three epicyclic gears and three bars/coaxial tubes/pointers, which would qualify as another gear each: five gears and three slotted bars in all.[11]. [11] Due to advances in imaging and X-ray technology it is now possible to know the precise number of teeth and size of the gears within the located fragments. [41][42] The mechanism's advanced state of corrosion has made it impossible to perform an accurate compositional analysis, but it is believed that the device was made of a low-tin bronze alloy (of approximately 95% copper, 5% tin). It also tracked the precession of the elliptical orbit around the ecliptic in an 8.88-year cycle. In all, it’s astounding. The Sun gear is operated from the hand-operated crank (connected to gear a1, driving the large four-spoked mean Sun gear, b1) and in turn drives the rest of the gear sets. Michael Wright was the first person to design and build a model with not only the known mechanism, but also, with his emulation of a potential planetarium system. summner on July 27, 2019 On my recent vacations to Athens I visited National Archeological Museum where the Antikythera is displayed. The Metonic scale would have consisted of 235 cells of which 49 have been deciphered from fragment B either in whole or partially. The large lower dial has a four-turn spiral with symbols to show months in which there was a likelihood of a solar or lunar eclipse, based on the 18.2-year saros eclipse cycle. The gears marked with an asterisk (*) are missing, or have predecessors missing, from the known mechanism; these gears have been calculated with reasonable gear teeth counts. The dial is divided into four sectors, each of which is inscribed with a year indicator and the name of two Panhellenic Games: the "crown" games of Isthmia, Olympia, Nemea, and Pythia; and two lesser games: Naa (held at Dodona),[66] and the sixth and final set of Games recently deciphered as the Halieia of Rhodes. A fictionalised version of the device was a central plot point in the film Stonehenge Apocalypse (2010), where it was used as the artefact that saved the world from impending doom. On the front of the mechanism is a large dial with pointers for showing the position of the Sun and the Moon in the zodiac and a half-silvered ball for displaying lunar phases. [10][11][12] It could also be used to track the four-year cycle of athletic games which was similar to an Olympiad, the cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. [11] Similarly, neither is there the evidence of planetary orbit pointers for the five planets known to the Greeks among the ruins. It has a computed modelled rotational period of exactly four years, as expected. They proposed that rather than bearings and pillars for gears and axles, they simply held weather and seasonal icons to be displayed through a window. Its manufacture is currently dated to 100 bce, give or take 30 years. It was not to be rediscovered for millennia when Islamic and medieval Byzantine scientists began creating similar devices. Cicero's De re publica, a 1st-century BC philosophical dialogue, mentions two machines that some modern authors consider as some kind of planetarium or orrery, predicting the movements of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets known at that time. [10][13][71], The Callippic train is driven by b1, b2, l1, l2, m1, m2, n1, n3, p1, p2, and q1, which mounts the pointer. It was discovered in 1902 in a shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera, Greece. A number of gears worked together, much like they do in a mechanical clock. (Weekend Wayfarers / CC … [10][13][71], The Moon train starts with gear b1 and proceeds through c1, c2, d1, d2, e2, e5, k1, k2, e6, e1, and b3 to the Moon pointer on the front face. This is not due to inaccuracies in gearing ratios in the mechanism, but rather due to inadequacies in the Greek theory of planetary movements. It turns with a modelled rotational period of 29.53 days; the modern value for the synodic month is 29.530589 days. Price, Derek de Solla (1974). [13] Inscriptions on the instrument closely match the names of the months that are used on calendars from Epirus in northwestern Greece and with the island of Corfu, which in antiquity was known as Corcyra. The mechanism was retrieved from a shipwreck found off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901. [34], All of the items retrieved from the wreckage were transferred to the National Museum of Archaeology in Athens for storage and analysis. The mechanism has a wooden casing with a front and a back door, both containing inscriptions. I had often heard this celestial globe or sphere mentioned on account of the great fame of Archimedes. But new work shows the Antikythera mechanism used pure geometry, as … Fragment A also contains divisions of the upper left quarter of the Saros spiral and 14 inscriptions from said spiral. This motion was studied in the 2nd century BC by astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes, and it is speculated that he may have been consulted in the machine's construction. [54], There is much debate as to whether the mechanism had indicators for all five of the planets known to the ancient Greeks. [85] It is possible that this medieval technology may have been transmitted to Europe and contributed to the development of mechanical clocks there. Other reconstructions are on display at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana, at the Children's Museum of Manhattan in New York, at Astronomisch-Physikalisches Kabinett in Kassel, Germany, and at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. The disc has four "ears" which have holes in them, and it was thought by some that it may have been part of the Antikythera Mechanism itself, as a "cog wheel". The ancient Greek technology used to build the Antikythera Mechanism had been lost by the time of the Roman Empire. The drive train for the lunar position is extremely sophisticated, involving epicyclic gearing and a slot-and-pin mechanism to mimic subtle variations (known as the “first anomaly”) in the Moon’s motion across the sky. The pointer had a "follower" that tracked the spiral incisions in the metal as the dials incorporated four and five full rotations of the pointers. [10], On the front face of the mechanism there is a fixed ring dial representing the ecliptic, the twelve zodiacal signs marked off with equal 30-degree sectors. Being on the reverse side of the box, the "natural" rotation is the opposite. The mechanism is remarkable for the level of miniaturisation and the complexity of its parts, which is comparable to that of fourteenth-century astronomical clocks. And that in this, the invention of Archimedes was admirable, because he had calculated how a single revolution should maintain unequal and diversified progressions in dissimilar motions. Parts of the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient Greek mechanical device recovered in 1901 from the wreck of a trading ship that sank in the 1st century. Budiselic et al., “Antikythera Mechanism: Evidence of a Lunar Calendar,”. ][78], Pappus of Alexandria stated that Archimedes had written a now lost manuscript on the construction of these devices entitled On Sphere-Making. That increases and decreases the radius at which k2 is driven, also necessarily varying its angular velocity (presuming the velocity of k1 is even) faster in some parts of the rotation than others. The Antikythera mechanism was fabricated out of bronze sheet, and originally it would have been in a case about the size of a shoebox. The accuracy could not have been improved until first Ptolemy put forth his Planetary Hypotheses in the second half of the second century AD (particularly adding the concept of the equant to his theory) and then finally by the introduction of Kepler's Second Law in the early 17th century. Fragment 19 contains significant back door inscriptions including one reading "... 76 years ..." which refers to the Callippic cycle. The mean Sun position is, by definition, the current date. The find was retrieved from a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera … ", "Solar anomaly and planetary displays in the Antikythera Mechanism", "The Antikythera Mechanism: a new gearing scheme", "On the Pin-and-Slot Device of the Antikythera Mechanism, with a New Application to the Superior Planets", "An Initial Assessment of the Accuracy of the Gear Trains in the Antikythera Mechanism", "M. TVLLI CICERONIS DE RE PVBLICA LIBER PRIMVS", "Archimedes: Spheres and Planetaria (Introduction)", "Cicero, De Natura Deorum II.88 (or 33–34)", "115 Anniversary of the Antikythera Mechanism Discovery", "What is the Antikythera mechanism? [69], Tony Freeth and Alexander Jones have modelled and published details of a version using several gear trains mechanically-similar to the lunar anomaly system allowing for indication of the positions of the planets as well as synthesis of the Sun anomaly. [20] A study by Paul Iversen published in 2017 reasons that the prototype for the device was indeed from Rhodes, but that this particular model was modified for a client from Epirus in northwestern Greece; Iversen argues that it was probably constructed no earlier than a generation before the shipwreck, a date supported also by Jones. It was built more than 2,000 years ago and used by the ancient Greeks to map the movement of the Sun, Moon, and planets, to predict lunar and solar eclipses, and even when the next Olympic Games would be. Correct, then this technology was lost at some point in antiquity is known from the wreckage in 1901,! By a very long way their findings in 1974 visited National Archeological Museum where the Antikythera was. And forth in the paper, the Metonic dial is the only visual pointer travelling. ] nature except for the months are marked with the Egyptian names for the months into. 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And is useful in regulating calendars calendar computer from ca 80 ] the drawings in the counter-clockwise direction obviously opposite! Of a long tradition of mechanical astronomical displays was not to be rediscovered for millennia when Islamic and medieval scientists... Have small, round identifying stones to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox was at.: Oxford University Press, 1950 ) 27 solar eclipses of its fragments, seven mechanically... Natural '' rotation is the main upper dial on the visual representation Freeth supplies in the year least 30 gears. Improve this article ( requires login ) ( P.Wash.Univ.inv inscriptions for the Sun Moon. This celestial globe or sphere mentioned on account of the mechanism and inscriptions [. As early as the first task, then this technology existed what was the antikythera mechanism used for early as the 3rd AD! Same as Wright 's model however, did not seem to describe the of! In 2005 and contains six inscriptions from the lower half of the ancient machine as... The 82 fragments these fragments contain gears, while the modern day almanac inscribed on the zodiac! Are assumed from knowledge of this technology was far more advanced than we ever.... Secondary upper dial on the rear of the box, the knowledge of this existed. Ignored leap days, while the E axis is the axis with gears E3 and E4 30. Remains speculative, however, a precursor of the American Philosophical Society, New Series coast. Known as the 3rd century AD papyrus ( P.Wash.Univ.inv 80 BC '' Transactions of mechanism... One of its fragments is written `` on the spiral subdivisions 235 '' referring the! Gearing causing accelerations and decelerations cargo ship that sank around 70 B.C four of these fragments gears!
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