Precision mechanics

Back in the III century BC. e. Alexandrian astronomers used purely mechanical devices to determine the coordinates of celestial bodies.

Subsequently, in the XV and XVI centuries , devices such as the armillary sphere , globe (earthly and heavenly), astrolabe , diopter , etc., came into use.

In the Renaissance, the art of creating and using highly accurate goniometric instruments, the accuracy of which measurements were limited by the capabilities of the eye of the observer, reached high perfection. Thus, with the help of precise mechanics, those problems were solved in which optics subsequently manifested itself. Subsequently, Tycho de Brahe brought the accuracy of measuring the coordinates of celestial bodies to such perfection that Kepler was able to build a theory of planetary motion based on his data.

On the principle of dioptre, the first goniometers were based, which in geodetic practice were called theodolites and levels , as well as angles in the vertical plane. ^[one]

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The development of precision mechanics has made significant progress thanks to the invention by Christian Huygens of a mechanical pendulum clock, as well as the creation of navigation devices, sextants , etc., which gave rise to intensive navigation and the beginning of the era of great geographical discoveries. Over time, it has become fashionable to wrap a pocket watch in a spherical case. After that, for such watches, the production of which was laid in Nuremberg, the name "Nuremberg Eggs" was fixed.

The development of watchmaking was promoted by the activities of artisans in Switzerland and Germany , where the masters of Nuremberg were especially famous, and among them the manufacturer of locks and watches Peter Henlein , who is considered to be the creator of a nameless clockwork ^[7] . In the same direction, the creation of watches with combat, as well as various mechanical musical instruments, including those operating according to a given program, was going on. These include carillon , mechanical piano and street organ.

Currently, the clock mechanism is a standard component of a professional telescope located on the earth's surface, allowing to compensate for the effect of the Earth's rotation.

The oldest and most primitive instrument of precision mechanics is the abacus , which has come down to the present in the form of office accounts.

The most ancient computing device that allows you to simulate the movement of celestial bodies was found on the bottom of the sea near the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, a very complex mechanism formed by a combination of gears. The device was on the seabed about 85-60 years BC. e. The possibility of creating such a mechanism with the ideas that existed to this day on the level of technology of that time seems incredible. Presumably, the device was used to set the start date of the Olympic Games . It is believed that this is not the only device that is essentially an analog computer . In any case, in the 1st century BC. e. Cicero described the "Sphere of Archimedes" as a kind of planetarium , reproducing the movement of the Sun , Moon and five planets known at that time. ^[eight]

In 1614, John Napier introduced the concept of logarithm into mathematics, and in 1617 he produced the first slide rule , which allowed mechanizing the mathematical operations of multiplication and division. ^[9] It is generally accepted that the first mechanical meter, such as an arithmometer, was created by Leibniz after meeting Huygens in 1683 . This made it possible to mechanize the mathematical operations of addition and subtraction. So the instrumental base was created for engineering calculations in exact mechanics and optics, which without fundamental changes ensured mass engineering calculations until the widespread introduction of electronic computer technology in practice in the second half of the 20th century .

A special area of ​​precision mechanics was the creation of automata, including those imitating humans - androids . ^{[10] [11] [12]}

A major achievement in precision mechanics was the invention of Foucault in 1852, a gyroscope , which made it possible to switch from using a magnetic compass to a gyrocompass , invented in 1908 by Anschutz-Kempfe .

For the first time, the gyroscope found its application in military affairs ( Aubrey device ), allowing to significantly increase the accuracy of torpedo weapons . Autopilot (the idea and scheme of which were proposed by Tsiolkovsky in 1898 ) and modern guided weapon guidance systems are based on the same principle. ^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}

Skilled craftsmen in the field of precision mechanics also worked in Russia. These include Nartov and Kulibin . In Russian literary classics, Levsha Leskova is a collective specialist in the field of creating precise mechanisms ^[19] . A significant contribution to the theory of accurate measurements was made by Lomonosov , Mendeleev and Academician Kupfer , who represented Russia in 1859 at the congress of the International Association for the Introduction of a Uniform System of Weights and Measures in Bradford .