Science and Technology

Science and Technology

In recent years, scientific and technological developments have drastically changed life on our planet as well as our views both of us as individuals in society and of the Universe as a whole.

Today, science and technology are closely related. Many modem technologies such as nuclear power and space flights depend on science and the application of scientific knowledge and principles. Each advance in pure science creates new opportunities for the development of new ways of making things to be used in daily life. In turn, technology provides science with new and more accurate instruments for its investigation and research.

Technology refers to the ways in which people use discoveries to satisfy needs and desires, to alter the environment, to improve their lives. Throughout human history, men and women have invented tools, machines, materials and techniques, to make their lives easier. Of course, when we speak of technology today, we are looking at it in a much narrower sense. Generally, we mean industrial technology, or the technology that began about 200 years ago with the development of power-driven machines, growth of the factory system, and mass production of goods that has created the basis for our modern society. Today we often say that we live in an age of science and technology. According to one estimate, 90 % of all the scientists who ever lived, were alive and active in the 1970-s. This increased scientific activity has brought new ideas, processes, and inventions in ever-growing amount.

The scientific revolution that started in the 16th century was the first time that science and technology began to work together. Thus, Galileo who made revolutionary discoveries in astronomy and physics also built an improved telescope and patented a system of lifting water. However, it was not until the 19th century that technology truly was based on science and inventors began to build on the work of scientists. For example, Thomas Edison built on the early experiments of Faraday and Henry in his invention of the first practical system of electrical lighting. Edison carried on his investigations until he found the carbon filament for the electric bulb in a research laboratory. This was the first true modern technological research.

In a sense, the history of science and technology is the history of all humankind.

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