Technology and the History - Research Paper Example

? How Technology Affected the History How Technology Affected the History Technology has been used throughout history to make the works and lives of people easier, faster and more efficient than before. It advances together with the deepening and breakthroughs in the human knowledge as it serves as the reflection or the product of human thinking. Without it, life would have been the same since the dawn of humankind. Probably buildings, electricity, computers and vehicles will not exist without the advancement in knowledge through scientific applications. As the knowledge and technology progress quickly, processes and activities of people are hastened and become more efficient. Lives have been saved, businesses grow, environment is taken care of and everything seems to progress with the aide of technology. In particular, the recent breakthroughs in computers and internet have allowed people to connect to anybody anytime and anywhere despite of the distance geographically. Barriers have been overcome by the technology and people are able to enjoy the benefits. Despite of the benefits from technology, some downfalls are seen by scientists and other professionals throughout history. Those may pose hazard to the environment, human health, education, morals and many more. There are many factors involved in those negative consequences of using technology but those are not signs of the end of the world. They may signal the need for change, innovation and further studies to create new solutions to the spurring problems and challenges for the betterment of the world towards sustainability. As technology has been noted in the preceding paragraphs, reflecting upon the changes as it passes through the history may give a clear picture and understanding to the readers regarding the importance and impact of technology to human existence. History has been divided into different eras and for the study, three eras would be mentioned and discussed: Renaissance Era, Industrial Revolution Era, and Atomic Era. Each era would be provided with introductions and the technologies used for each. Afterwards, the advantages and disadvantages of the technology for each era would be analyzed and compared and contrasted to other technology from other eras. Renaissance started since the time of the High Middle Ages wherein various improvements happened in terms of the economy, society, politics and intellects. Its roots came from the Renaissance of the 12th century which was considered to be the developments to sprout at the latter part of the Middle Ages. It became the avenue for the advancement in arts, literature and science although scientific developments occurred at the latter part of Renaissance.1 Renaissance originally means rebirth and it was a cultural movement that spanned from the 14th century to 17th century and became a wide-scale movement throughout Europe. It had produced the paper and type sped that allowed quicker dissemination of knowledge but still some nations in Europe had not experienced its boom equally. In terms of literature, it developed the Latin literature across the Western continent and the popularity was attributed to Petrarch. In particular, he had made linear perspective and other artistic techniques together with the reformation of education.2 The developments had given way to the practices in the Modern Era such as the conventions in politics through diplomacy and the importance of observation that became the primary tool for science. Renaissance had also catered to the developments of the polymaths who were considered to be geniuses in various fields of knowledge and abilities like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. They were known as Renaissance man as being such is attributed to the name of the era. Various issues had been laid down with the concept of the polymaths and even with the name Renaissance and its very existence.3 Some viewed Renaissance as just a part of the former eras with high respect for classical ages as culture and arts flourished. Nostalgia might have been noted from those people especially for the appreciation of aesthetics and philosophy. Nevertheless, the era had contributed to the breakthroughs in technology. Another era to be discussed for the paper would be the Industrial Revolution which occurred in the mid-18th to mid-19th century and had shown numerous developments and in the way people live. Agriculture had been developed further as many plants and animals were domesticated to be sources of food for human consumption. In addition, domestication is not the only one to be developed further as processing became popular. Those farm produce were brought into facilities with formal processes to be done to manufacture them into food and industrial products. Other developments were also seen in terms of technology, mining and transportation as they had placed significant improvements in the lives of many people.4 The cultural, economic and social developments had spanned not only in Europe but also in America and advanced nations in the world. Industrial revolution had provided the chance for ordinary people to gain long-term growth especially with their economic and financial capabilities. It also led to the growth of human population more than ever before. Great Britain had provided the way for entrepreneurs to lead the way towards the development during the industrial revolution because there was unity between Scotland and England and barriers were removed. In addition, business laws had been established and legalities had allowed people to create corporations through the institution of capitalism or free market.5 The business development was followed by advancement in economic and agricultural activities from manual to machine-based processing. Machines had hastened the processing starting off with the textile and it was further expanded with the introduction of coal and iron-making. Cities became developed and people transferred from the rural areas to the metropolitan areas for income opportunities because of the use of machines and transportation improvements like railways and canals. With the use of coal, machines and interchangeable tools, the processes became fast that allowed businesses to produce goods massively lowering the cost of the products in the market. The use of coal had done it by powering the water wheels and running the machinery to boost production dramatically.6 With its inception and acceptance until its widespread use, people around the world had improved the processes and coined the term industrialization. It has also led to the development of equipment run by electricity. Economic improvement had been observed to greatly improve because of the Industrial Revolution. The gross domestic product had boosted dramatically and the nations benefit from the businesses of their citizens who do so for their own motives. It would also lead to further technological advancement that had spawned the interest of people toward the minute particles called atoms. The third era for the paper would be the Atomic Era which was marked by the explosion of atomic bombs during World War Two on Trinity and followed by the bombing in Hiroshima. It showed how technology can be used as a weapon of mass destruction with the application of nuclear technology. It had changed the thinking of people and viewed it as a tool for socio-political power towards modernity and advancement.7 Atomic age had also shown some problems with the nuclear use because it had shown various social problems like arms conflicts and massive casualties. People had also seen the problems in Chernobyl and Three Mile Island together with the hazardous waste produced by such technology. The three eras had shown advancement in knowledge and technology and had spawned various advantages and disadvantages to the countries around the world. They had also reflected upon how those things had influenced the lives of people which require careful study and further researches for the betterment of mankind and the Planet Earth. For the next part, each era would have their technologies to be the focus of discussion. For Renaissance, various technologies were invented such as mining, iron-making, mechanizing iron rod production, smelt-milling and many more. Products were produced like the arquebus and musket, crank and connecting rod, water-raising pump, printing press, parachute, astrolabe, floating dock, dry dock, newspaper, lifting tower and air gun. All of them are very important as they make lives easier.8 Muskets and arquebuses are ancient guns that were used by armies in European nations. The two were different from each other in terms of size and weight. An arquebus is shorter and lighter than musket and the former had higher caliber and heavier bullets at the same time. Another technology from Renaissance was the crank and connecting rod. It multiplied the circular motion to run various work processes starting off with the hydro-powered sawmills. Later on it became widespread and the crank and connecting rod was established as in important part in almost all machine models. The inventions did not end there as Johannes Gutenberg had created the printing press. The circular equipment called printing press had allowed people to publish books with 3600 pages per day of work. It became the precursor of the Industrial Revolution because of its mechanization of work activity in the form of publishing. It had allowed the flow of information to be easier than before and gave rise to education and mass communication. It also provided a way for democratization of learning through sharing of knowledge and the rise of the middle class. Another invention would be the parachute which was first used by its inventor and was previously designed as part of an artwork entitled The Flying Man. It had allowed people to “fly” or actually glide through the air by taking advantage of the air resistance using a counter-resistance occupying a wide area in the air. Other equipment and inventions would be the floating dock for anchoring ships, newspapers which came out after the development of the printing press for books, air guns which were designed after the muskets, cranks and screws for piping and many more. The next era would be the Industrial Revolution which had spawned the use of machines to hasten production and improve the efficiency through machine processes and organized working activities. The major changes were textiles, iron-making, and steam-powering. Textiles had used machines that spin faster to get the work done as compared to manual workers doing the same tasks. When the patent of the machine ended, various cotton mills came out using the same technology until the production of cloth and threads became widespread. Next, iron making was improved through the use of iron smelting instead of having the charcoal for the iron production. It was also used for copper and lead production. Lastly, steam power was used by burning coal and the smoke and pressure would run the machines. It was practical especially for places without available water power. It was used for various factory activities and even to power the trains for transportation. Other than those stated above, some other developments during the Industrial Revolution include mining, making chemicals, using machine tools, gas lighting, and glass making, producing papers, hastening agricultural activities, and improving transportation. Mining for coals became rampant as coal was used for powering machines for transportation and manufacturing activities. Chemicals were also formulated for building and manufacturing processes. Gas lighting had been advanced by using coals undergoing various processes for purification. In terms of glass making, glass sheets were made from the activity called cylinder process. Paper making also existed as the machines based on the textile industry was used to produce quantities of paper. Agricultural production and other activities were hastened by mechanization and transportation was improved through road building, installing railway and making canals. The last era would be Atomic Era which had used the power of the atomic energy for power. It was used to provide electricity in some nations like Japan but it was also abused by those in the armies or terrorists using that technology for very destructive weapons like bombs and missiles. The same era had also provided advancement in health science through nuclear medicine and radiologic technology that had helped medical practitioners to detect and cure diseases of their patients.9 With all of the said advancement in technology, people had enjoyed them to improve their own lives and of the lives of other people as well. They had also produced beneficial impacts to the society and environment although some of them had hazardous effects in terms of social, economic, moral, environmental and other consequences which careful studies must look into and produce practical solutions. Bibliography Evans, Chris and Goran Ryden. The Industrial Revolution in Iron: The Impact of British Coal Technology in 19th Century Europe. USA: Ashgate Publishing, 2005. Henriksen, Margot. Dr. Strangelove's America: Society/Cutlture in Atomic Age. USA: University of California Press, 1997. Housel, Debra. Industrial Revolution: The 20th Century (Primary Source Readers). USA: Teacher Created Materials, 2008. King, Margaret. Renaissance in Europe. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2003. Mokyr, Joel. The British Industrial Revolution: An Economic Perspective, Second Edition. USA: West View Press, 1999. Sawday, Jonathan. Engines of the Imagination: Renaissance Culture and the Rise of the Machine. USA: Routledge, 2007. Weinberg, Alvin Martin. The First Nuclear Era: The Life and Times of Nuclear Fixer. USA: American Institute of Physics, 1994. Read More