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科技史講義
Science
Science, in the broadest sense of the term, refers to any system of knowledge attained
by verifiable means. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring
knowledge based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism, as
well as to the organized body of knowledge humans have gained by such research.
Scientists maintain that scientific investigation must adhere to the scientific method, a
process for properly developing and evaluating natural explanations for observable
phenomena based on empirical study and independent verification. Science typically,
therefore, rejects supernatural explanations, arguments from authority and biased
observational studies.
Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines: Natural sciences,
which study natural phenomena; and Social sciences, which study human behavior
and societies. Whether mathematics is a science is a matter of perspective.
Fields of science can be further distinguished as pure science or applied science. Pure
science is principally involved with the discovery of new truths with less (or no)
regard to their applications. Applied science is principally involved with the
application of existing truths in new ways.
In the broadest sense, science (from the Latin scientia, 'knowledge') refers to any
systematic methodology which attempts to collect accurate information about the
shared reality and to model this in a way which can be used to make reliable, concrete
and quantitative predictions about events, in line with hypotheses proven by
experiment. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring
knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of
knowledge gained through such research. Science as defined above is sometimes
termed pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application
of scientific research to specific human needs.
Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines: the natural sciences,
which study natural phenomena (including biological life), and the social sciences,
which study human behavior and societies. A principal characteristic of these
groupings is that they are empirical sciences, which means the knowledge must be
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based on observable phenomena and capable of being tested for its validity by other
researchers working under the same conditions.
Formal science, e.g. mathematics and logic, is sometimes classified as the third group
of science, having both similarities and differences with the natural and social
sciences. It is similar to other disciplines in that it involves an objective, careful and
systematic study of an area of knowledge; it is different because of its method of
verifying its knowledge, using apriority rather than empirical methods. Formal
science, especially mathematics, is vital to the sciences. Indeed, major advances in
mathematics have often led to critical advances in the physical and biological sciences.
The opposite has also happened. Certain mathematical approaches are indispensable
for the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws, both in discovering and
describing how things work (natural sciences) and how people think and act (social
sciences).
The Bohr model of the atom, like many ideas in the history of science, was at first
prompted by and later partially disproved by experiment.
Mathematics and the scientific method
Mathematics is essential to many sciences. One important function of mathematics in
science is the role it plays in the expression of scientific models. Observing and
collecting measurements, as well as hypothesizing and predicting, often require
mathematical models and extensive use of mathematics. Mathematical branches most
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often used in science include calculus and statistics, although virtually every branch
of mathematics has applications, even "pure" areas such as number theory and
topology. Mathematics fundamental to the understanding of hard sciences such as
physics and chemistry as well as the soft sciences such as biology and the social
sciences which rely heavily on statistics.
Some thinkers see mathematicians as scientists, regarding physical experiments as
inessential or mathematical proofs as equivalent to experiments. Others do not see
mathematics as a science, since it does not require experimental test of its theories and
hypotheses, although some theorems can be disproved by contradiction through
finding exceptions. (More specifically, mathematical theorems and formulas are
obtained by logical derivations which presume axiomatic systems, rather than a
combination of empirical observation and method of reasoning that has come to be
known as scientific method.) In either case, the fact that mathematics is such a useful
tool in describing the universe is a central issue in the philosophy of mathematics.
Technology
Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of
tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its
environment. In human society, it is a consequence of science and engineering,
although several technological advances predate the formalization of these two
disciplines. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek "technologia",
"τεχνολογία" — "techne", "τέχνη" ("craft") and "logia", "λογία" ("saying"). However,
a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to
humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader
themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can
either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction
technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology".
The human race's use of technology began with the conversion of plentiful natural
resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire
increased the available sources of food, and the invention of the wheel helped humans
in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments,
including the printing press and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to
communication and allowed humans to interact on a global scale. However, not all
technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of
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ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to
nuclear bombs.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many
societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's
global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. However, many
technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and
deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various
implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology
often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of
efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines,
and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in
society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition
or worsens it. Neo-Luddism and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of
technology in the modern world, claiming that it alienates people and destroys culture;
proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view
continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.
Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was
restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other
primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to
pass their knowledge to other generations.
Definition and usage
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The invention of the printing press made it possible for scientists and politicians to
communicate their ideas with ease, leading to the Age of Enlightenment; an example
of technology as a cultural force.
In general, "technology" is the relationship that society has with its tools and crafts,
and to what extent society can control its environment. The Merriam-Webster
dictionary offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge
especially in a particular area" and "a capability given by the practical application of
knowledge". Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 "Real World of Technology" lecture, gave
another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way we do things around
here".The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to refer to high
technology, rather than technology as a whole. However, the term is mostly used in
three different contexts: when referring to a tool (or machine); a technique; the
cultural force; or a combination of the three.
Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial,
created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value.
In this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve
real-world problems. It is a far-reaching term that may include simple tools, such as a
crowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex machines, such as a space station or
particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material; virtual technology,
such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of
technology.
The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this
context, it is the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources
to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfil needs, or satisfy wants; it
includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials.
When combined with another term, such as "medical technology" or "space
technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge and tools.
"State-of-the-art technology" refers to the high technology available to humanity in
any field.Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture. A
modern example is the rise of communication technology, which has lessened barriers
to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of
cyberculture has, at its basis, the development of the Internet and the computer. Not
all technology enhances culture in a creative way; technology can also help facilitate
political oppression and war via tools such as guns. As a cultural activity, technology
predates both science and engineering, each of which formalize some aspects of
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technological endeavor.
Industrial Civilization: Nineteenth Century
Power.
The basic source of converting energy into power during the 19th century was James
Watt's double-acting steam engine. High-pressure steam for steam-run, or "horseless,"
carriages was developed by Richard Trevithick in England (1802) and Oliver Evans in
the United States (1805). Through most of the 19th century waterpower was the
principal competitor of steam, and its use was markedly stimulated by the water
turbine, developed (1827) in France by Benoît Fourneyron. By the end of the century
the steam turbine was introduced by Carl Gustav de Laval in Sweden (1882) and Sir
Charles Algernon Parsons in Great Britain (1884), but its application was delayed
until the 20th century.
Experiments with the internal-combustion engine began early in the century but were
without success until Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir built an operational if inefficient
two-cycle engine (1860) and the first automobile with this type of engine in 1862. The
critical breakthrough in designing an efficient internal-combustion engine came in
1876, when Nikolaus August Otto marketed the "Silent Otto" gas engine, having four
cycles: intake, compression, stroke, and exhaust. In the 1880s the engine was adopted
by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler to power motor vehicles. Rudolf Diesel's engine,
in which combustion is produced by high pressure in the cylinder, was exhibited in
1897.
Electric power became possible with the nearly simultaneous discovery (1831) of
electromagnetic induction by Michael Faraday (England) and Joseph Henry (United
States), but its application required the development of a practical dynamo and
electric motor. The dynamo evolved in a series of steps, beginning with the first one
built (1855 patent), by Søren Hjorth of Denmark. Simultaneously, experiments in
electric lighting (see lighting devices) culminated with Thomas A. Edison's invention
of the incandescent lamp in 1879. Edison opened (1882) the first direct-current central
generating station, on Pearl Street in New York City. Frank J. Sprague produced a
successful direct-current electric motor in 1884 and applied it in 1887 to a
street-trolley railway in Richmond, Va. Immediately afterward Nikola Tesla, a
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Hungarian immigrant to the United States, developed (1888) the first successful
alternating-current induction motor.
Industry.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain in the 18th century, spread to
the rest of western Europe and North America during the 19th century. The pattern of
diffusion was quite uniform, beginning with textiles, coal, and iron. In textiles such
improvements as the Jacquard loom (France, 1801) were developed, which allowed
fabrics with woven patterns to be produced cheaply. The sewing machine was
invented (1846) in the United States by Elias Howe and mass-marketed (1851) by
Isaac Merrit Singer. Iron was the basic metal of industry until after the discovery by
Henry Bessemer (British patent, 1856) and William Kelly (U.S. patent, 1847) of a
process for making large amounts of steel cheaply (see iron and steel industry). The
superior Siemens-Martin open-hearth process for making high-quality steel was first
demonstrated in France in 1863.
Once steel was more readily available, it became an important material for
construction (see building construction), notably in the American skyscraper and in
bridges. It made possible heavier railroad equipment and replaced iron in shipbuilding
(iron ships themselves were an innovation of the mid-19th century). Steel also
influenced warfare by permitting high-powered, long-range weapons and
more-efficient armor to be designed.
An equally important development was increased mechanization. In 1807, Robert
Fulton designed the first practical steamboat, the Clermont, using James Watt's steam
engine. Steamboats were restricted at first to inland coastal waters—until more
fuel-efficient engines were designed in order to make ocean voyages practical. The
steam railway is considered to have begun (1825) in England with the Stockton and
Darlington Railway, but the first convincing demonstration of the steam locomotive
was George Stephenson's Rocket on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1829
(see railroad). Rail transportation spread rapidly, competing with the elaborate canal
systems, built during the same time, as an economical method of inland transportation.
The mechanization of agriculture began with Cyrus McCormick's reaper (1831) in the
United States.
New industries also appeared. The chemical industry was revolutionized by the
Solvay process for making alkalis (Belgium, 1872) and the development of the first
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plastic celluloid (United States, 1861) and of coal-tar dyes (England, 1856). Charles
Goodyear made rubber (United States, 1839) usable, and aluminum came into
industrial use with the Hall-Heroult electrolytic process (United States–France, 1886).
The petroleum industry was born in 1859, when Edwin L. Drake sank an oil well in
Titusville, Pa. The industry's major product during the 19th century was kerosene for
illumination. The telegraph, perfected (United States, 1837) by Samuel F. B. Morse
and his assistant Alfred Vail, and the telephone, invented (United States, 1876) by
Alexander Graham Bell, fostered communications industries based on electricity.
Industrial Civilization: Twentieth Century
Before 1945.
The technological and industrial expansion of the 19th century continued unabated
during the 20th century. Geographically, industrialization spread into eastern Europe,
specifically Russia, and into Japan. Motor-vehicle manufacturing grew to an
enormous scale (see automotive industry), especially after Henry Ford's adoption
(1913) of mass production by the moving assembly line. Mass production and the
proliferating use of automobiles created a demand for gasoline that stimulated
worldwide exploration for oil as well as research in oil-refining techniques. In
addition, oil to a great degree replaced coal as a fuel. Another effect of the automobile
was extensive highway construction (see roads and highways).
Aviation is a 20th-century phenomenon, beginning with the invention (1903) of the
airplane by the Wright brothers (see Wright, Orville and Wilbur). Constant
improvements in airframe design and engines made military aviation (see aircraft,
military) a dominant feature of warfare by 1945, and commercial aviation had aircraft
capable of transatlantic travel by the same year. Lighter-than-air craft (see airship)
were developed by the German Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin and had potential for
both military and commercial use, but a series of disasters—notably the burning
(1937) of the Hindenburg—destroyed confidence in them.
Communications was transformed by Guglielmo Marconi's invention of radio in 1896
and by the subsequent discovery of the vacuum tube. Radio quickly became
indispensable for maritime and military communication and it also generated an
extensive entertainment industry during the 1920s. The moving-picture industry also
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developed at that time (see film, history of). Experiments with television achieved
success in the 1930s, but commercial application was delayed until after World War
II.
In the chemical industry further developments occurred in plastics and synthetic fibers.
Nylon was discovered by Wallace H. Carothers at Du Pont in 1927 and was
manufactured by 1939.
In agricultural technology, farm mechanization progressed with the adoption both of
steam power and then of the internal-combustion engine for farm machinery.
Research in genetics and soil chemistry led to the development of hybrid corn and
other disease-resistant crops. Other innovations included the introduction of the Rust
cotton picker in 1939 and chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Technological advance influenced and was influenced by the wars of the 20th century.
During World War I there occurred the first general use of long-range artillery, the
machine gun, poison gas (see chemical and biological warfare), the submarine, tanks
(see armored vehicle), aircraft, and radio. World War II introduced aircraft carriers,
radar, sonar, ballistic missiles, and, above all, the atomic bomb. The jet engine (see jet
propulsion) had been experimented with before World War II by Sir Frank Whittle
(Great Britain, 1930) and Hans von Ohain (Germany, 1935); the Germans had a few
jet fighters in operation toward the end of the war.
Since 1945.
In the years since World War II, technological advance has accelerated. Nuclear
energy has been used successfully in large warships. More important, nuclear power
permits submarines to stay submerged for long periods. Commercially, nuclear energy
is being used in several countries to generate electric power, although it also presents
problems of reactor accidents and radioactive waste disposal.
Not only the electronics industry but almost every field of technology was
revolutionized by the invention (1947) of the transistor by John Bardeen, Walter
Brattain, and William Shockley. Although the first electronic computer, named
ENIAC, had already been placed in operation in 1946, the transistor made possible far
more sophisticated computer circuitry in increasingly small spaces—especially with
the development of integrated circuits in the 1950s. Electronic miniaturization has
made practical the use of computerized sensors in such ordinary devices as
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automobiles, kitchen appliances, and toys; the automation of large industrial processes;
and the availability of inexpensive computers to small businesses and individuals (see
computer, personal).
The inventions of the maser (1954) and laser (1960) have also led to revolutionary
advancements in technology. Lasers, in particular, have found wide applications in
information storage, audiovisual devices, communications, and surgery as well as in
physics and fusion energy research.
In medicine, antibiotics were first used extensively during World War II, and many
new families of drugs as well as new drug-delivery techniques have been developed
since then. Advanced radiology techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and
positron emission tomography are now in use, and a range of organ-transplant
operations has become almost routine (see transplantation, organ). In 1982 the first
artificial heart was placed in a human being (see heart, artificial). By the 1980s,
genetic engineering techniques had become basic to biomedical research and were in
commercial use.
The field of space exploration advanced spectacularly in the modern era. Beginning
with rocket and missile experiments in World War II (see rockets, missiles, and space
launch vehicles), it opened up with the launching (1957) of the first artificial Earth
satellite, the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 (see Sputnik). After extensive preparation the
United States achieved a manned Moon landing in 1969 (see Apollo program). In the
1980s, manned space efforts focused on the Soviet Salyut and Mir programs and the
U.S. Space Shuttle but also included a number of long-range space station plans.
Space probes have observed at close range the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and a small fleet of automated craft met Halley's comet
during its most recent visit in 1986. Finally, a wide range of Earth satellites are
routinely launched to provide a wealth of services and data (see satellite, artificial).
The field of materials engineering routinely invents useful new materials with unusual
properties. In the 1990s, it introduced the new applied science of nanotechnology (see
micromechanism), which promises to transform practice in, for example, medical
diagnosis and treatment, through the use of microscopically miniaturized sensors.
Technological advancements are now rapid and widely applied (see National
Technical Information Service). They can cause immediate and profound effects in
such areas as global economics, national health, and national security. For these
reasons the guarding of technologies and technological secrets has become an
important concern, both of nations and of technology-dependent corporations.
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Science, engineering and technology
The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not always clear.
Science is the reasoned investigation or study of phenomena, aimed at discovering
enduring principles among elements of the phenomenal world by employing formal
techniques such as the scientific method. Technologies are not usually exclusively
products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability
and safety.
Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and building tools and systems
to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, using results and techniques
from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of
knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical
knowledge, to achieve some practical result.
Technology is often a consequence of science and engineering — although
technology as a human activity preceeds the two fields. For example, science might
study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors, by using already-existing tools
and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be used by engineers to create
new tools and machines, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of
advanced technology. In this sense, scientists and engineers may both be considered
technologists; the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research
and reference.
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History
Prehistory (— 5000BCE)
A Paleolithic flint spear and sword, used by early humans for hunting and
fighting.
The history of technology is at least as old as humankind, if not older. Primitive tools
have been discovered with almost every find of ancient human remains.
Archaeologists have uncovered tools made by humanity's ancestors more than two
million years ago, and the earliest direct evidence of tool usage, found in the Great
Rift Valley, dates back to 2.5 million years ago. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle,
characteristic of the Lower Paleolithic era, involved a limited use of technology, and
the earliest tools, such as the handaxe and scraper, were developed to aid early
humans in that role.
The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses,
was a turning point in the technological evolution of humankind. The exact date of its
discovery is not known; evidence of burnt animal bones at the Cradle of Humankind
suggests that the domestication of fire occurred before 1,000,000 BCE; scholarly
consensus indicates that Homo erectus had controlled fire by between 500,000 BCE
and 400,000 BCE. Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal, allowed early humans to cook
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their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the
number of foods that could be eaten.
Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era were clothing and
shelter; the adoption of both technologies cannot be dated exactly, but they were key
to humanity's progress. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more
sophisticated and more elaborate; as early as 380,000 BCE, humans were constructing
temporary wood huts. Clothing, adapted from the fur and hides of hunted animals,
helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began to migrate out of Africa
by 200,000 BCE and into other continents, such as Eurasia.
A more sophisticated toolmaking technique was developed at around the same time.
Known as the prepared-core technique, it enabled the creation of more controlled and
consistent flakes, which could be hafted onto wooden shafts as arrows. This new
technique helped to form more efficient composite tools and weapons, and combined
with fire, this new technique enabled humans to hunt more effectively; wooden spears
with fire-hardened points have been found as early as 250,000 BCE.
Technological developments in the Upper Paleolithic era, helped by the development
of language, included advances in flint tool manufacturing, with industries based on
fine blades rather than simple flakes. Humans began to work bones, antler, and hides,
as evidenced by burins and racloirs produced during this period.
Ancient history (5000BCE — 0CE)
Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided the ability to
smelt and forge native metals (naturally occurring in relatively pure form). Gold,
copper, silver, and lead, were such early metals. The advantages of copper tools over
stone, bone, and wooden tools were quickly apparent to early humans, and native
copper was probably used from near the beginning of Neolithic times (about 8000
BCE). Native copper does not naturally occur in large amounts, but copper ores are
quite common and some of them produce metal easily when burned in wood or
charcoal fires. Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery of alloys such as
bronze and brass (about 4000 BCE). The first uses of iron alloys such as steel dates to
around 1400 BCE.
Meanwhile, humans were learning to harness other forms of energy. The earliest
known use of wind power is the sailboat. The earliest record of a ship under sail is
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shown on an Egyptian pot dating back to 3200 BCE. From prehistoric times,
Egyptians probably used "the power of the Nile" annual floods to irrigate their lands,
gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely-built irrigation channels
and 'catch' basins. Similarly, the early peoples of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians,
learned to use the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for much the same purposes. But more
extensive use of wind and water (and even human) power required another invention.
The wheel was invented in circa 4000 BCE.
According to archaeologists, the wheel was invented around 4000 B.C. The wheel
was likely independently invented in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq) as well.
Estimates on when this may have occurred range from 5500 to 3000 B.C., with most
experts putting it closer to 4000 B.C. The oldest artifacts with drawings that depict
wheeled carts date from about 3000 B.C.; however, the wheel may have been in use
for millennia before these drawings were made. There is also evidence from the same
period of time that wheels were used for the production of pottery. (Note that the
original potter's wheel was probably not a wheel, but rather an irregularly shaped slab
of flat wood with a small hollowed or pierced area near the center and mounted on a
peg driven into the earth. It would have been rotated by repeated tugs by the potter or
his assistant.) More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found
in the Ljubljana marshes of Slovenia.
The invention of the wheel revolutionized activities as disparate as transportation, war,
and the production of pottery (for which it may have been first used). It didn't take
long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads and fast
(rotary) potters' wheels enabled early mass production of pottery. But it was the use of
the wheel as a transformer of energy (through water wheels, windmills, and even
treadmills) that revolutionized the application of nonhuman power sources.
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Modern history (0CE —)
Tools include both simple machines (such as the lever, the screw, and the pulley), and
more complex machines (such as the clock, the engine, the electric generator and the
electric motor, the computer, radio, and the Space Station, among many others).
An integrated circuit — a key foundation for modern computers.
As tools increase in complexity, so does the type of knowledge needed to support
them. Complex modern machines require libraries of written technical manuals of
collected information that has continually increased and improved — their designers,
builders, maintainers, and users often require the mastery of decades of sophisticated
general and specific training. Moreover, these tools have become so complex that a
comprehensive infrastructure of technical knowledge-based lesser tools, processes
and practices (complex tools in themselves) exist to support them, including
engineering, medicine, and computer science. Complex manufacturing and
construction techniques and organizations are needed to construct and maintain them.
Entire industries have arisen to support and develop succeeding generations of
increasingly more complex tools.
Technology and society
Technology and society or technology and culture refers to the never-ending
cyclical co-dependence, co-influence, co-production of technology and society upon
the other (technology upon culture, and vice-versa). This synergistic relationship
occurred from the dawn of humankind, with the invention of the simple tools; and
continues into modern technologies such as the printing press, the telephone, and the
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many forms of computer-mediated communication. Just about every technological
advancement is due to some influence from society, and the nearly every aspect of
modern life is influenced by technology.
The academic discipline studying the impacts of science, technology, and society and
vice versa is called (and can be found at) Science and technology studies.
Modern examples
There are an extraordinary number of examples of co-production that can be seen in
society today. One great example is the mobile phone. Ever since the invention of the
telephone society was in need of a more portable device that they could use to talk to
people. This high demand for a new product led to the invention of the mobile phone,
which did, and still does, greatly influence society and the way people live their lives.
Now many people are accessible to talk to no matter where they are. This keeps
people accountable and relied upon no matter where they are because they have no
excuses for not keeping in touch.
All these little changes in mobile phones, like Internet access, are further examples of
the cycle of co-production. Society's need for being able to call on people and be
available everywhere resulted in the research and development of mobile phones.
They in turn influenced the way we live our lives. As the populace relies more and
more on mobile phones, additional features were requested. They were implemented,
changing the way mobile phones were used once again, precipitating new needs,
perpetuating the co-production.
Environment
Technology provides an understanding, and an appreciation for the world around us.
Most modern technological processes produce unwanted byproducts in addition to the
desired products, which is known as industrial waste and pollution. While most
material waste is re-used in the industrial process, many forms are released into the
environment, with negative environmental side effects, such as pollution and lack of
sustainability. Different social and political systems establish different balances
between the value they place on additional goods versus the disvalues of waste
products and pollution. Some technologies are designed specifically with the
environment in mind, but most are designed first for economic or ergonomic effects.
Historically, the value of a clean environment and more efficient productive processes
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has been the result of an increase in the wealth of society, because once people are
able to provide for their basic needs, they are able to focus on less-tangible goods
such as clean air and water.
The effects of technology on the environment are both obvious and subtle. The more
obvious effects include the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources (such as
petroleum, coal, ores), and the added pollution of air, water, and land. The more
subtle effects include debates over long-term effects (e.g., global warming,
deforestation, natural habitat destruction, coastal wetland loss.)
Each wave of technology creates a set of waste previously unknown by humans: toxic
waste, radioactive waste, electronic waste.
One of the main problems is the lack of an effective way to remove these pollutants
on a large scale expediently. In nature, organisms "recycle" the wastes of other
organisms, for example, plants produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis,
oxygen-breathing organisms use oxygen to metabolize food, producing carbon
dioxide as a by-product, which plants use in a process to make sugar, with oxygen as
a waste in the first place. No such mechanism exists for the removal of technological
wastes.
Humanity at the moment may be compared to a colony of bacteria in a Petri dish with
a constant food supply: with no way to remove the wastes of their metabolism, the
bacteria eventually poison themselves.
Appropriate technology
A solar cell, made from a monocrystalline silicon
wafer
Appropriate Technology is technology that is appropriate to the environmental,
cultural and economic situation it is intended for. An Appropriate Technology, in this
sense, typically requires fewer resources, as well as lower cost and less impact on the
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environment. Proponents use the term to describe technologies which they consider to
be suitable for use in developing nations or underdeveloped rural areas of
industrialized nations, which they feel cannot operate and maintain high technology.
Appropriate Technology usually prefers labor-intensive solutions over
capital-intensive ones, although labor-saving devices are also used where this does not
mean high capital or maintenance cost.
In practice, it is often something that might be described as using the simplest level of
technology that can effectively achieve the intended purpose in a particular location.
However, the terminology is not very precise.
E. F. Schumacher asserts that such technology, described in the book Small is
Beautiful [1] tends to promote values such as health, beauty and permanence, in that
order.
What exactly constitutes Appropriate Technology in any given case is a matter of
debate, but generally the term is used by theorists to question high technology or what
they consider to be excessive mechanization, human displacement, resource depletion
or increased pollution associated with industrialisation. The term has often, though
not always, been applied to the situations of developing nations or underdeveloped
rural areas of industrialized nations.
It could be argued that "Appropriate Technology" for a technologically advanced
society may mean a more expensive, complex technology requiring expert
maintenance and high energy inputs. However, this is not the usual meaning of the
term.
Some appropriate technologies
Information and communication technology
The 2B1 and the Simputer are computers aimed at developing countries, their primary
advantage being low cost. Other relevant factors include resistance to dust, reliability
and use of the target language.
Eldis OnDisc is a project which uses CDs and DVDs to give access to development
information in areas without reliable and affordable internet access.
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The Wind-up radio and the computer and communication system planned by the Jhai
Foundation are independent from power supply.
There is also GrameenPhone, which fused mobile telephony with Grameen Bank's
microfinance program to gives Bangladeshi villagers access to communication.
Mobile telephony is appropriate technology for many developing countries, as it
greatly reduces the infrastructure required to achieve widespread coverage.
Loband, a website developed by Aidworld strips all the photographic and other
bandwidth intensive content from webpages and renders them as simple text, while
otherwise allowing you to browse them normally. The site greatly increasing the
speed of browsing, and is appropriate for use on low bandwidth connections as
generally available in much of the developing world.
Energy
"Appropriate" energy technologies are especially suitable for isolated and/or small scale
energy needs. However, high capital cost must be taken into account.
Electricity can be provided from solar cells (which are expensive initially, but simple),
wind power or micro hydro, with energy stored in batteries.
Biobutanol, biodiesel and straight vegetable oil can be appropriate, direct biofuels in areas
where vegetable oil is readily available and cheaper than fossil fuels.
A generator (running on biofuels) can be run more efficiently if combined with batteries
and an inverter; this adds significantly to capital cost but reduces running cost, and can
potentially make this a much cheaper option than the solar, wind and micro-hydro options.
Biogas is another potential source of energy, particularly where there is an abundant supply
of waste organic matter.
The term soft energy technology was coined by Amory Lovins to describe "appropriate"
renewable energy.
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Lighting
The Light Up the World Foundation uses white LED lights and a source of renewable
energy such as solar cells to provide lighting to poor people in remote areas, providing
significant benefits compared to the kerosene lamps which they replace.
The Safe bottle lamp is a safer kerosene lamp designed in Sri Lanka. The safety comes
from a secure screw-on metal lid, and two flat sides which prevent it from rolling if
knocked over.
Ventilation and air conditioning
Natural ventilation can be created by providing vents in the upper level of a building to
allow warm air to rise by convection and escape to the outside, while cooler air is drawn in
through vents at the lower level. A solar chimney often referred to as thermal chimney
improves this natural ventilation by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy.
To further maximize the cooling effect, the incoming air may be led through underground
ducts before it is allowed to enter the building.
A windcatcher (Badgir; ‫ )ب ادگ یر‬is a traditional Persian architectural device used for
many centuries to create natural ventilation in buildings. It is not known who first invented
the windcatcher, but it still can be seen in many countries today. Windcatchers come in
various designs, such as the uni-directional, bi-directional, and multi-directional.
A passive down-draft cooltower may be used in a hot, arid climate to provide a sustainable
way to provide air conditioning. Water is allowed to evaporate at the top of a tower, either
by using evaporative cooling pads or by spraying water. Evaporation cools the incoming
air, causing a downdraft of cool air that will bring down the temperature inside the
building.
Food preparation
According to proponents, Appropriate Technologies can greatly reduce the labor required
to prepare food, compared to traditional methods, while being much simpler and cheaper
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than the processing used in Western countries. This reflects E.F. Schumacher's concept of
"intermediate technology," i.e. technology which is significantly more effective and
expensive than traditional methods, but still an order of magnitude (10 times) cheaper than
developed world technology. Key examples are the Malian peanut sheller, the fonio
husking machine, and the screenless hammer mill.
Cooking
Smokeless and wood conserving stoves promise greater efficiency and less smoke,
resulting in savings in time and labor, reduced deforestation, and significant health benefits.
Briquette makers, of the type developed by the Legacy Foundation, can turn organic waste
into fuel, saving money and/or collection time, and preserving forests.
Solar cookers are appropriate to some settings, depending on climate and cooking style.
Water treatment
Appropriate Technology options in water treatment include both community-scale
and household-scale designs. Household water treatment and safe storage (HTWS) in
particular is now promoted by a network that includes the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to WHO’s Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, the most reliable way to
kill microbial pathogenic agents is to heat water to a rolling boil. Other techniques,
such as varying forms of filtration, chemical disinfection, and exposure to ultraviolet
radiation (including solar UV) have been demonstrated in an array of randomized
control trials to significantly reduce levels of waterborne disease among users in
low-income countries.
Over the past decade, an increasing number of field-based studies have been
undertaken to determine the success of HWTS measures in reducing waterborne
disease. The ability of HWTS options to reduce disease is a function of both their
ability to remove microbial pathogens if properly applied and such social factors as
ease of use and cultural appropriateness. Technologies may generate more (or less)
health benefit than their lab-based microbial removal performance would suggest.
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The current priority of the proponents of HWTS is to reach large numbers of
low-income households on a sustainable basis. Few HWTS measures have reached
significant scale thus far, but efforts to promote and commercially distribute these
products to the world's poor have only been under way for a few years.