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Hide Open main menu Wikipedia	Search 1 Edit this pageWatch this page Read in another language Computer "Computer system" redirects here. For other uses, see Computer (disambiguation) and Computer system (disambiguation). A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically via computer programming. Modern computers have the ability to follow generalized sets of operations, called programs. These programs enable computers to perform an extremely wide range of tasks.

Computer Acer Aspire 8920 Gemstone.jpgColumbia Supercomputer - NASA Advanced Supercomputing Facility.jpgIntertec Superbrain.jpg 2010-01-26-technikkrempel-by-RalfR-05.jpgThinking Machines Connection Machine CM-5 Frostburg 2.jpgG5 supplying Wikipedia via Gigabit at the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2006 in Dresden.JPG DM IBM S360.jpgAcorn BBC Master Series Microcomputer.jpgDell PowerEdge Servers.jpg Computers and computing devices from different eras Computers are used as control systems for a wide variety of industrial and consumer devices. This includes simple special purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls, factory devices such as industrial robots and computer-aided design, and also general purpose devices like personal computers and mobile devices such as smartphones.

Early computers were only conceived as calculating devices. Since ancient times, simple manual devices like the abacus aided people in doing calculations. Early in the Industrial Revolution, some mechanical devices were built to automate long tedious tasks, such as guiding patterns for looms. More sophisticated electrical machines did specialized analog calculations in the early 20th century. The first digital electronic calculating machines were developed during World War II. The speed, power, and versatility of computers have been increasing dramatically ever since then.

Conventionally, a modern computer consists of at least one processing element, typically a central processing unit (CPU), and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logical operations, and a sequencing and control unit can change the order of operations in response to stored information. Peripheral devices include input devices (keyboards, mice, joystick, etc.), output devices (monitor screens, printers, etc.), and input/output devices that perform both functions (e.g., the 2000s-era touchscreen). Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source and they enable the result of operations to be saved and retrieved.

Etymology History Types Hardware Software Firmware Networking and the Internet Main articles: Computer networking and Internet

Visualization of a portion of the routes on the Internet Computers have been used to coordinate information between multiple locations since the 1950s. The U.S. military's SAGE system was the first large-scale example of such a system, which led to a number of special-purpose commercial systems such as Sabre.[72] In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. The effort was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that resulted was called the ARPANET.[73] The technologies that made the Arpanet possible spread and evolved.

In time, the network spread beyond academic and military institutions and became known as the Internet. The emergence of networking involved a redefinition of the nature and boundaries of the computer. Computer operating systems and applications were modified to include the ability to define and access the resources of other computers on the network, such as peripheral devices, stored information, and the like, as extensions of the resources of an individual computer. Initially these facilities were available primarily to people working in high-tech environments, but in the 1990s the spread of applications like e-mail and the World Wide Web, combined with the development of cheap, fast networking technologies like Ethernet and ADSL saw computer networking become almost ubiquitous. In fact, the number of computers that are networked is growing phenomenally. A very large proportion of personal computers regularly connect to the Internet to communicate and receive information. "Wireless" networking, often utilizing mobile phone networks, has meant networking is becoming increasingly ubiquitous even in mobile computing environments.

Unconventional computers Unconventional computing Future Professions and organizations See also References Notes External links Talk Last edited 7 days ago by Smasongarrison Wikipedia Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of Banner logo Wiki Loves Monuments: Photograph a monument, help Wikipedia and win!

Hide Open main menu Wikipedia	Search 2 Edit this pageWatch this page Read in another language Technology This article is about the use and knowledge of techniques and processes for producing goods and services. For other uses, see Technology (disambiguation).

A steam turbine with the case opened. Such turbines produce most of the electricity used today. Electricity consumption and living standards are highly correlated.[1] Electrification is believed to be the most important engineering achievement of the 20th century. Technology ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[2]) is first robustly defined by Jacob Bigelow in 1829 as: "...principles, processes, and nomenclatures of the more conspicuous arts, particularly those which involve applications of science, and which may be considered useful, by promoting the benefit of society, together with the emolument [compensation [3]] of those who pursue them".[4]

Principle is a term defined current-day by Merriam-Webster[5] as: "a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption", "a primary source", "the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device", "an ingredient (such as a chemical) that exhibits or imparts a characteristic quality".[6] Process is a term defined current-day by the United States Patent Laws (United States Code Title 34 - Patents)[7] published by the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO)[8] as follows: "The term 'process' means process, art, or method, and includes a new use of a known process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or material."[9] Nomenclature is term defined by Merriam-Webster[10] as: "name, designation", "the act or process or an instance of naming", "a system or set of terms or symbols especially in a particular science, discipline, or art".[11] Application of Science is a term defined current-day by the United States' National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine[12] as: "...any use of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, whether to do more science; to design a product, process, or medical treatment; to develop a new technology; or to predict the impacts of human actions."[13] The simplest form of technology is the development and use of basic tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire and the later Neolithic Revolution increased the available sources of food, and the invention of the wheel helped humans to travel in and control their environment. Developments in historic times, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale.

Technology has many effects. It has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products known as pollution and deplete natural resources to the detriment of Earth's environment. Innovations have always influenced the values of a society and raised new questions of the ethics of technology. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, and the challenges of bioethics.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the use of technology, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar reactionary movements criticize the pervasiveness of technology, arguing that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.

Definition and usage Science, engineering and technology Antoine Lavoisier conducting an experiment with combustion generated by amplified sun light The distinction between science, engineering, and technology is not always clear. Science is systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.[27] Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability, and safety.[citation needed]

Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) 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 precedes 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.[28]

The exact relations between science and technology in particular have been debated by scientists, historians, and policymakers in the late 20th century, in part because the debate can inform the funding of basic and applied science. In the immediate wake of World War II, for example, it was widely considered in the United States that technology was simply "applied science" and that to fund basic science was to reap technological results in due time. An articulation of this philosophy could be found explicitly in Vannevar Bush's treatise on postwar science policy, Science – The Endless Frontier: "New products, new industries, and more jobs require continuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature ... This essential new knowledge can be obtained only through basic scientific research."[29] In the late-1960s, however, this view came under direct attack, leading towards initiatives to fund science for specific tasks (initiatives resisted by the scientific community). The issue remains contentious, though most analysts resist the model that technology simply is a result of scientific research.[30][31]

History Main articles: History of technology, Timeline of historic inventions, and Timeline of electrical and electronic engineering Paleolithic (2.5 Ma – 10 ka) A primitive chopper Further information: Outline of prehistoric technology The use of tools by early humans was partly a process of discovery and of evolution. Early humans evolved from a species of foraging hominids which were already bipedal,[32] with a brain mass approximately one third of modern humans.[33] Tool use remained relatively unchanged for most of early human history. Approximately 50,000 years ago, the use of tools and complex set of behaviors emerged, believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the emergence of fully modern language.[34]

Stone tools

Hand axes from the Acheulian period

A Clovis point, made via pressure flaking Hominids started using primitive stone tools millions of years ago. The earliest stone tools were little more than a fractured rock, but approximately 75,000 years ago,[35] pressure flaking provided a way to make much finer work.

Fire Main article: Control of fire by early humans The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses, was a turning point in the technological evolution of humankind.[36] 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 Ma;[37] scholarly consensus indicates that Homo erectus had controlled fire by between 500 and 400 ka.[38][39] Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal, allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of foods that could be eaten.[40]

Clothing and shelter Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era were clothing and shelter; the adoption of both technologies cannot be dated exactly, but they were a key to humanity's progress. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and more elaborate; as early as 380 ka, humans were constructing temporary wood huts.[41][42] 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 ka and into other continents such as Eurasia.[43]

Neolithic through classical antiquity (10 ka – 300 CE) An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Human's technological ascent began in earnest in what is known as the Neolithic Period ("New Stone Age"). The invention of polished stone axes was a major advance that allowed forest clearance on a large scale to create farms. This use of polished stone axes increased greatly in the Neolithic, but were originally used in the preceding Mesolithic in some areas such as Ireland.[44] Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition to sedentism allowed simultaneously raising more children, as infants no longer needed to be carried, as nomadic ones must. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could to the hunter-gatherer economy.[45][46]

With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in labor specialization.[47] What triggered the progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as Uruk, and the first civilizations, such as Sumer, is not specifically known; however, the emergence of increasingly hierarchical social structures and specialized labor, of trade and war amongst adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges such as irrigation, are all thought to have played a role.[48]

Metal tools Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided, for the first time, the ability to smelt and forge of gold, copper, silver, and lead – native metals found in relatively pure form in nature.[49] 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 10 ka).[50] 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 1800 BCE.[51][52]

Energy and transport The wheel was invented circa 4000 BCE. Main article: History of transport Meanwhile, humans were learning to harness other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind power is the sailing ship; the earliest record of a ship under sail is that of a Nile boat dating to the 8th millennium BCE.[53] From prehistoric times, Egyptians probably used the power of the annual flooding of the Nile to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built irrigation channels and "catch" basins. The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia used a complex system of canals and levees to divert water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for irrigation.[54]

According to archaeologists, the wheel was invented around 4000 BCE probably independently and nearly simultaneously in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq), the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Central Europe.[55] Estimates on when this may have occurred range from 5500 to 3000 BCE with most experts putting it closer to 4000 BCE.[56] The oldest artifacts with drawings depicting wheeled carts date from about 3500 BCE;[57] however, the wheel may have been in use for millennia before these drawings were made. More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found in the Ljubljana marshes of Slovenia.[58]

The invention of the wheel revolutionized trade and war. It did not take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads. The ancient Sumerians used the potter's wheel and may have invented it.[59] A stone pottery wheel found in the city-state of Ur dates to around 3429 BCE,[60] and even older fragments of wheel-thrown pottery have been found in the same area.[60] 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. The first two-wheeled carts were derived from travois[61] and were first used in Mesopotamia and Iran in around 3000 BCE.[61]

The oldest known constructed roadways are the stone-paved streets of the city-state of Ur, dating to circa 4000 BCE[62] and timber roads leading through the swamps of Glastonbury, England, dating to around the same time period.[62] The first long-distance road, which came into use around 3500 BCE,[62] spanned 1,500 miles from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea,[62] but was not paved and was only partially maintained.[62] In around 2000 BCE, the Minoans on the Greek island of Crete built a fifty-kilometer (thirty-mile) road leading from the palace of Gortyn on the south side of the island, through the mountains, to the palace of Knossos on the north side of the island.[62] Unlike the earlier road, the Minoan road was completely paved.[62]

Plumbing Photograph of the Pont du Gard in France, one of the most famous ancient Roman aqueducts[63] Ancient Minoan private homes had running water.[64] A bathtub virtually identical to modern ones was unearthed at the Palace of Knossos.[64][65] Several Minoan private homes also had toilets, which could be flushed by pouring water down the drain.[64] The ancient Romans had many public flush toilets,[65] which emptied into an extensive sewage system.[65] The primary sewer in Rome was the Cloaca Maxima;[65] construction began on it in the sixth century BCE and it is still in use today.[65]

The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts,[63] which were used to transport water across long distances.[63] The first Roman aqueduct was built in 312 BCE.[63] The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE.[63] Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450 kilometers,[63] but less than seventy kilometers of this was above ground and supported by arches.[63]

Medieval and modern history (300 CE – present) Main articles: Medieval technology, Renaissance technology, Industrial Revolution, Second Industrial Revolution, Information Technology, and Productivity improving technologies (economic history) Innovations continued through the Middle Ages with innovations such as silk, the horse collar and horseshoes in the first few hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Medieval technology saw the use of simple machines (such as the lever, the screw, and the pulley) being combined to form more complicated tools, such as the wheelbarrow, windmills and clocks. The Renaissance brought forth many of these innovations, including the printing press (which facilitated the greater communication of knowledge), and technology became increasingly associated with science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement. The advancements in technology in this era allowed a more steady supply of food, followed by the wider availability of consumer goods.

The automobile revolutionized personal transportation. Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was a period of great technological discovery, particularly in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, mining, metallurgy, and transport, driven by the discovery of steam power. Technology took another step in a second industrial revolution with the harnessing of electricity to create such innovations as the electric motor, light bulb, and countless others. Scientific advancement and the discovery of new concepts later allowed for powered flight and advancements in medicine, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The rise in technology has led to skyscrapers and broad urban areas whose inhabitants rely on motors to transport them and their food supply. Communication was also greatly improved with the invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio and television. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a revolution in transportation with the invention of the airplane and automobile.

F-15 and F-16 flying over Kuwaiti oil fires during the Gulf War in 1991. The 20th century brought a host of innovations. In physics, the discovery of nuclear fission has led to both nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Computers were also invented and later miniaturized utilizing transistors and integrated circuits. Information technology subsequently led to the creation of the Internet, which ushered in the current Information Age. Humans have also been able to explore space with satellites (later used for telecommunication) and in manned missions going all the way to the moon. In medicine, this era brought innovations such as open-heart surgery and later stem cell therapy along with new medications and treatments.

Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to make and maintain these new technologies, and entire industries have arisen to support and develop succeeding generations of increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on training and education – their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require sophisticated general and specific training. Moreover, these technologies have become so complex that entire fields have been created to support them, including engineering, medicine, and computer science, and other fields have been made more complex, such as construction, transportation, and architecture.

Philosophy Competitiveness Other animal species Future technology See also Main article: Outline of technology Book: Technology Architectural technology Critique of technology Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century History of science and technology Knowledge economy Law of the instrument – Golden hammer Lewis Mumford List of years in science Niche construction Science and technology in Argentina Technological convergence Technology and society Technology assessment Technology tree -logy Superpower § Possible factors Theories and concepts in technology Appropriate technology Diffusion of innovations Human enhancement Instrumental conception of technology Jacques Ellul Paradigm Philosophy of technology Posthumanism Precautionary principle Singularitarianism Strategy of Technology Techno-progressivism Technocentrism Technocracy Technocriticism Technological determinism Technological evolution Technological nationalism Technological singularity Technology management Technology readiness level Technorealism Transhumanism Economics of technology Energy accounting Nanosocialism Post-scarcity economy Productivity improving technologies (economic history) Technocracy Technocapitalism Technological diffusion Technology acceptance model Technology lifecycle Technology transfer Technology journalism Engadget TechCrunch The Verge Wired (magazine) Other STEM fields References Further reading Talk Last edited 2 days ago by Citation bot Wikipedia Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of UseprivacyDesktop Banner logo Wiki Loves Monuments: Photograph a monument, help Wikipedia and win!

Hide Open main menu Wikipedia	Search 2 Edit this pageWatch this page Read in another language Technology This article is about the use and knowledge of techniques and processes for producing goods and services. For other uses, see Technology (disambiguation).

A steam turbine with the case opened. Such turbines produce most of the electricity used today. Electricity consumption and living standards are highly correlated.[1] Electrification is believed to be the most important engineering achievement of the 20th century. Technology ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[2]) is first robustly defined by Jacob Bigelow in 1829 as: "...principles, processes, and nomenclatures of the more conspicuous arts, particularly those which involve applications of science, and which may be considered useful, by promoting the benefit of society, together with the emolument [compensation [3]] of those who pursue them".[4]

Principle is a term defined current-day by Merriam-Webster[5] as: "a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption", "a primary source", "the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device", "an ingredient (such as a chemical) that exhibits or imparts a characteristic quality".[6] Process is a term defined current-day by the United States Patent Laws (United States Code Title 34 - Patents)[7] published by the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO)[8] as follows: "The term 'process' means process, art, or method, and includes a new use of a known process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or material."[9] Nomenclature is term defined by Merriam-Webster[10] as: "name, designation", "the act or process or an instance of naming", "a system or set of terms or symbols especially in a particular science, discipline, or art".[11] Application of Science is a term defined current-day by the United States' National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine[12] as: "...any use of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, whether to do more science; to design a product, process, or medical treatment; to develop a new technology; or to predict the impacts of human actions."[13] The simplest form of technology is the development and use of basic tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire and the later Neolithic Revolution increased the available sources of food, and the invention of the wheel helped humans to travel in and control their environment. Developments in historic times, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale.

Technology has many effects. It has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products known as pollution and deplete natural resources to the detriment of Earth's environment. Innovations have always influenced the values of a society and raised new questions of the ethics of technology. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, and the challenges of bioethics.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the use of technology, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar reactionary movements criticize the pervasiveness of technology, arguing that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.

Definition and usage Science, engineering and technology Antoine Lavoisier conducting an experiment with combustion generated by amplified sun light The distinction between science, engineering, and technology is not always clear. Science is systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.[27] Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability, and safety.[citation needed]

Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) 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 precedes 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.[28]

The exact relations between science and technology in particular have been debated by scientists, historians, and policymakers in the late 20th century, in part because the debate can inform the funding of basic and applied science. In the immediate wake of World War II, for example, it was widely considered in the United States that technology was simply "applied science" and that to fund basic science was to reap technological results in due time. An articulation of this philosophy could be found explicitly in Vannevar Bush's treatise on postwar science policy, Science – The Endless Frontier: "New products, new industries, and more jobs require continuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature ... This essential new knowledge can be obtained only through basic scientific research."[29] In the late-1960s, however, this view came under direct attack, leading towards initiatives to fund science for specific tasks (initiatives resisted by the scientific community). The issue remains contentious, though most analysts resist the model that technology simply is a result of scientific research.[30][31]

History Main articles: History of technology, Timeline of historic inventions, and Timeline of electrical and electronic engineering Paleolithic (2.5 Ma – 10 ka) A primitive chopper Further information: Outline of prehistoric technology The use of tools by early humans was partly a process of discovery and of evolution. Early humans evolved from a species of foraging hominids which were already bipedal,[32] with a brain mass approximately one third of modern humans.[33] Tool use remained relatively unchanged for most of early human history. Approximately 50,000 years ago, the use of tools and complex set of behaviors emerged, believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the emergence of fully modern language.[34]

Stone tools

Hand axes from the Acheulian period

A Clovis point, made via pressure flaking Hominids started using primitive stone tools millions of years ago. The earliest stone tools were little more than a fractured rock, but approximately 75,000 years ago,[35] pressure flaking provided a way to make much finer work.

Fire Main article: Control of fire by early humans The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses, was a turning point in the technological evolution of humankind.[36] 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 Ma;[37] scholarly consensus indicates that Homo erectus had controlled fire by between 500 and 400 ka.[38][39] Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal, allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of foods that could be eaten.[40]

Clothing and shelter Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era were clothing and shelter; the adoption of both technologies cannot be dated exactly, but they were a key to humanity's progress. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and more elaborate; as early as 380 ka, humans were constructing temporary wood huts.[41][42] 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 ka and into other continents such as Eurasia.[43]

Neolithic through classical antiquity (10 ka – 300 CE) An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Human's technological ascent began in earnest in what is known as the Neolithic Period ("New Stone Age"). The invention of polished stone axes was a major advance that allowed forest clearance on a large scale to create farms. This use of polished stone axes increased greatly in the Neolithic, but were originally used in the preceding Mesolithic in some areas such as Ireland.[44] Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition to sedentism allowed simultaneously raising more children, as infants no longer needed to be carried, as nomadic ones must. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could to the hunter-gatherer economy.[45][46]

With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in labor specialization.[47] What triggered the progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as Uruk, and the first civilizations, such as Sumer, is not specifically known; however, the emergence of increasingly hierarchical social structures and specialized labor, of trade and war amongst adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges such as irrigation, are all thought to have played a role.[48]

Metal tools Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided, for the first time, the ability to smelt and forge of gold, copper, silver, and lead – native metals found in relatively pure form in nature.[49] 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 10 ka).[50] 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 1800 BCE.[51][52]

Energy and transport The wheel was invented circa 4000 BCE. Main article: History of transport Meanwhile, humans were learning to harness other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind power is the sailing ship; the earliest record of a ship under sail is that of a Nile boat dating to the 8th millennium BCE.[53] From prehistoric times, Egyptians probably used the power of the annual flooding of the Nile to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built irrigation channels and "catch" basins. The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia used a complex system of canals and levees to divert water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for irrigation.[54]

According to archaeologists, the wheel was invented around 4000 BCE probably independently and nearly simultaneously in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq), the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Central Europe.[55] Estimates on when this may have occurred range from 5500 to 3000 BCE with most experts putting it closer to 4000 BCE.[56] The oldest artifacts with drawings depicting wheeled carts date from about 3500 BCE;[57] however, the wheel may have been in use for millennia before these drawings were made. More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found in the Ljubljana marshes of Slovenia.[58]

The invention of the wheel revolutionized trade and war. It did not take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads. The ancient Sumerians used the potter's wheel and may have invented it.[59] A stone pottery wheel found in the city-state of Ur dates to around 3429 BCE,[60] and even older fragments of wheel-thrown pottery have been found in the same area.[60] 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. The first two-wheeled carts were derived from travois[61] and were first used in Mesopotamia and Iran in around 3000 BCE.[61]

The oldest known constructed roadways are the stone-paved streets of the city-state of Ur, dating to circa 4000 BCE[62] and timber roads leading through the swamps of Glastonbury, England, dating to around the same time period.[62] The first long-distance road, which came into use around 3500 BCE,[62] spanned 1,500 miles from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea,[62] but was not paved and was only partially maintained.[62] In around 2000 BCE, the Minoans on the Greek island of Crete built a fifty-kilometer (thirty-mile) road leading from the palace of Gortyn on the south side of the island, through the mountains, to the palace of Knossos on the north side of the island.[62] Unlike the earlier road, the Minoan road was completely paved.[62]

Plumbing Photograph of the Pont du Gard in France, one of the most famous ancient Roman aqueducts[63] Ancient Minoan private homes had running water.[64] A bathtub virtually identical to modern ones was unearthed at the Palace of Knossos.[64][65] Several Minoan private homes also had toilets, which could be flushed by pouring water down the drain.[64] The ancient Romans had many public flush toilets,[65] which emptied into an extensive sewage system.[65] The primary sewer in Rome was the Cloaca Maxima;[65] construction began on it in the sixth century BCE and it is still in use today.[65]

The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts,[63] which were used to transport water across long distances.[63] The first Roman aqueduct was built in 312 BCE.[63] The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE.[63] Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450 kilometers,[63] but less than seventy kilometers of this was above ground and supported by arches.[63]

Medieval and modern history (300 CE – present) Main articles: Medieval technology, Renaissance technology, Industrial Revolution, Second Industrial Revolution, Information Technology, and Productivity improving technologies (economic history) Innovations continued through the Middle Ages with innovations such as silk, the horse collar and horseshoes in the first few hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Medieval technology saw the use of simple machines (such as the lever, the screw, and the pulley) being combined to form more complicated tools, such as the wheelbarrow, windmills and clocks. The Renaissance brought forth many of these innovations, including the printing press (which facilitated the greater communication of knowledge), and technology became increasingly associated with science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement. The advancements in technology in this era allowed a more steady supply of food, followed by the wider availability of consumer goods.

The automobile revolutionized personal transportation. Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was a period of great technological discovery, particularly in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, mining, metallurgy, and transport, driven by the discovery of steam power. Technology took another step in a second industrial revolution with the harnessing of electricity to create such innovations as the electric motor, light bulb, and countless others. Scientific advancement and the discovery of new concepts later allowed for powered flight and advancements in medicine, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The rise in technology has led to skyscrapers and broad urban areas whose inhabitants rely on motors to transport them and their food supply. Communication was also greatly improved with the invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio and television. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a revolution in transportation with the invention of the airplane and automobile.

F-15 and F-16 flying over Kuwaiti oil fires during the Gulf War in 1991. The 20th century brought a host of innovations. In physics, the discovery of nuclear fission has led to both nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Computers were also invented and later miniaturized utilizing transistors and integrated circuits. Information technology subsequently led to the creation of the Internet, which ushered in the current Information Age. Humans have also been able to explore space with satellites (later used for telecommunication) and in manned missions going all the way to the moon. In medicine, this era brought innovations such as open-heart surgery and later stem cell therapy along with new medications and treatments.

Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to make and maintain these new technologies, and entire industries have arisen to support and develop succeeding generations of increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on training and education – their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require sophisticated general and specific training. Moreover, these technologies have become so complex that entire fields have been created to support them, including engineering, medicine, and computer science, and other fields have been made more complex, such as construction, transportation, and architecture.

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