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The Antikythera Mechanism is understood to predict eclipses using the Saros cycle. Just for fun, if we were designing such a mechanical calculator now, how would we do it? Would we need to input our position? Then presumably we could use it like Lars Bergman's spreadsheet and find our position using the time of the eclipse? Is that too much for a mechanical calculator? In my fantasy we needn't limit ourselves to just gears that calculate ratios. We can use linkages. Kempe's theorem says there is a linkage to draw any algebraic curve.

Bill