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Technological

Technological

:See also: Innovation Innovation.]] Technology is a word with origins in the Greek word technologia (τεχνολογια), techne (τεχνη) "craft" + logia (λογια) "saying". It is an encompassing term dealing with the use and knowledge of humanity's tools and crafts.
Disambiguation of technology
Depending on context, the word technology has the following definitions and uses:
- Technology as tool-In its most common usage, technology is the tools and machines that help to solve problems. In this usage, technology is a far-reaching term that can include both simple tools, such as a wooden spoon, and complex tools, such as the space station.
- Technology as technique-In this usage, technology is the current state of our knowledge of how to combine resources to produce a desired products, to solve a problem, to fulfill a need, or to satisfy a want. Technology in this sense includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. (such as artificial intelligence, building technology, or medical technology).
- Technology as culture former-a culture-forming (or destroying) activity (such as manufacturing technology, infrastructure technology, or space-travel technology). (McGinn). As a cultural activity, technology predates both science and engineering. This is not to imply that technology is the only culture forming activity, nor that it is the primary culture-forming activity. Often, it is dominant in cultural formation; often, it is not. In addition, culture may act to form technology. Due to widespread, and sometime careless, use of technology, several other topics arise in the study of technology, including technological ethics, environmental impacts, technological by-products, and technological risk, among many other philosophical and sociological topics.

Science and technology

The lines between science and technology are not always clear. Generally, science is the reasoned investigation or study of nature, aimed at finding out the truth, generally according to the scientific method. Technology is the application of knowledge (scientific, engineering, and/or otherwise) to achieve a practical result (Roussel, et.al.). For example, science might study the flow of electrons in an electric current. This knowledge may be used to create artifacts, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of technology.

History of technology

The history of technology is as old as the history of humanity because history proper refers to what could be recorded by technological means. Mind you that other animals currently use tools and animals prior to human existence may have as well. The history of technology follows a progression from simple (low-tech) tools and simple energy sources to complex ("hi-tech") tools. The earliest technologies converted natural resources into simple tools. Processes such as carving, chipping, scraping, rolling (the wheel), and sun-baking are simple means for the conversion of raw materials into usable products. Anthropologists have uncovered many early human houses and tools made from natural resources (although birds also build nests out of dried materials and we don't consider them to have a technological society). The use, and then mastery, of fire was a key turning point in man's technological evolution providing him with simple energy. The use of fire extended the capability for the treatment of natural resources and allowed the use of natural resources that require heat to be useful. Wood and charcoal were among the first materials used as a fuel. Wood, clay, and rock (such as limestone), would be among the earliest materials shaped or treated by fire, for making weapons, pottery, bricks, and cement, among others. Continuing improvements such as the furnace enabled the ability to smelt and forge metal (such as copper, ca. 8000 BC), and eventually to the discovery of alloys, such as brass and bronze (ca. 4000 BC). The first uses of iron alloys, steel, dates to around 1400 BC. Complex tools include both simple machines (such as the lever (ca. 300 BC), the screw (ca. 400 BC), and the pulley) and complex machines (such as the ocean liner, the engine, the computer, modern communications devices, the electric motor, the jet engine, among many others). Again we are confronted with an impractical vagueness as we categorise the lever with the jet engine. As tools increase in complexity, so does the type of knowledge needed to support them. Modern complex machines require written technical manuals of collected information that his been countinually added to and improved upon and are so complex, that entire technical knowledge-based processes and practices (also complex tools themselves) exist to support them, including engineering, medicine, computer science, etc. Further, complex machinies require complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations. Entire industries have arisen to support and develop complex tools.

The nature of technology

General characteristics

With all of the technology in use in modern society, it may seem futile to attempt a generalized list of common characteristics. Many authors, such as McGinn (1991) and Winston (2003), list the following: Complexity refers to the characteristic that most modern tools are difficult to understand. Some are easy to use, but difficult to comprehend source and means of make, such as a kitchen knife, or a baseball. Others are both difficult to use and difficult to comprehend, such as a tractor, gasoline, a television, or a computer. Dependency refers to the fact that modern tools depend on other modern tools, which depend on other modern tools, for their make and their use. Cars, as an example, have a huge complex of industry of means and methods. And to use them requires a complex of road, streets, highways, and gasoline stations, waste collection, etc., beyond our comprehension. Valence refers to the many, many different types of the same tool. Imagine the many different types of spoons available today, or scissors, and even complex tools come in many shape as well, like the construction crane, or the automobile. Scale refers to the sheer magnitude, size, and pervasiveness of modern technology. Simply put, technology seems to be everywhere. It dominates modern life. Scale refers also to the magnitude of some modern technological projects, like the cellular telephone network, the Internet, air travel, satellites, etc.

Types of Technology

One possible classification of technology uses the fields of technological studies, commonly found in academic institutions of higher learning:
- Applied Science;
- Athletics and recreation;
- The Arts and language;
- Business/information;
- Defense;
- Domestic/residential;
- Engineering;
- Health;
- Cognitive;
- Travel and trade .

Relationship with society

The relationship between society and technology is quite complex, creating what many characterize as a co-dependence upon the other; society creates and depends upon technology to meet its needs and desires, and technology's very existence arises due to society's needs and desires. However, this "symbiosis" goes further than that: Every advancement in technology influences and eventually changes society. So the needs of society change, creating more needs, and, eventually, creating more technology. (McGinn 1991) Consider the telephone, and its latest sibling the mobile phone. With the invention of the telephone, society began to depend on quicker ways of communication with others. Higher expectations for quicker communications were initially met using short-range radio systems for use in emergency vehicles. However, even higher portability was realized with miniaturization of components. This demand for a new product led to the invention of the mobile phone. The influence of portability is so pervasive now anyone can be accessible to talk in most urban places in the developed world Many technologies allow one society to have a military advantage over another society. This can be indirectly as something that creates population growth, for example, or this can be direct technology put into use like the gun or the atom bomb. The effects these technologies have on human society are complex and could result in slavery, assimilation, or genocide. Some technologies, like the video camera, start without militaristic use but eventually find themselves employed for those purposes. The car is another example of this... it is created and marketed with the promise of freedom (initially for the wealthy and without regard to the factory hands) but then it impedes upon other forms of transportation (like the free movement of the pedestrian), requires extensive paving for its full accommodation, and then it is employed militaristically. Its consumption of fuel eventually even becomes the potential basis for a resource war. The use of advanced mass media techniques, such as television programming, allows some members of society to have larger sway over the attititudes and opinions of others. Mass media often shapes mass opinion -- for better or, at least as often, worse. The effects that various forms of technology have upon the environment also sways public opinion. The Chernobyl effect (caused by a massive nuclear meltdown) is thought to have played a part in undermining the confidence that citizens of the Soviet Union had in their government. The exact causes for the collapse of that government are debatable but the new leader in Russia had a reputation as being a strong environmentalist.

Funding for technological development

Government

The government is a major contributor to the development of technology. In the United States, many agencies invest millions of dollars in new technology. In 1980, the UK government invested just over 6 million pounds in a 4 year Programme, later extended to 6 years, called the Microlectronics Education Programme (MEP) which aimed to provide every school in Britain with at least one computer, microprocessor training materials and software, plus extensive teacher training.

Military technology

Technology has frequently been driven by the military, with most modern applications being developed for the military before being taken up for civilian use. However, this trend has recently seen a reversal, with the industry often taking the lead in developing technology which is then adopted by the military.

Other

Some government agencies are dedicated specifically to research, such as the American's National Science Foundation, the United Kingdom scientific research institutes, the American's Small Business Innovative Research effort. And many government agencies dedicate a major portion of their budget to research and development.

Private source

For profit

Research and development is one of the biggest investments made by corporations toward new and innovative technology.

Non-profit

Many foundations and non-profit organizations contribute to the development of technology.

Side effects

There are two types of effects from the use of technology, main effects and side effects. Main effects are those intended by the technology, usually to fulfill some desire or need. Side effects are (usually) unintended, and often unknown prior to technology's implementation. This portion of the article deals with those side effects.

Sociological

The most subtle side effects from technological uses are sociological in nature. Subtle because those side effects can go unnoticed without careful observation and contemplation of individual, institutional, and group behaviors.

Values

The implementation of technology influence the values (beliefs, ideas, opinions) of society by changing expectations and realities. There are (at least) three major, interrelated, values that are the result of technological innovations:
- Mechanistic World View. A set of beliefs that views the universe as a collection of parts, like a machine, that can be individually analyzed and understood. (McGinn)
- Efficiency. A value, originally applied only to machines, but now placed upon all aspects of society, whereby each element (organizational structures and human beings) is expected to attain higher and higher performance, output, ability, etc. (McGinn)
- Progressivism. The belief that societal progress is good.

Ethics

Winston provides an excellent summary of the ethical implications of technological development and deployment. He states there are four major ethical implications:
- Challenges traditional ethical norms.
- Creates an aggregation of effects.
- Changes the distribution of justice.
- Provides great power.

Lifestyle

In many ways, technology simplifies life.
- The rise of a leisure class
- More informed
- Sets the stage for more complex learning tasks
- Increases multi-tasking
- Global Networking
- Creates denser social circles
- others In other ways, technology complicates life.
- Sweatshops and harsher forms of slavery are more likely to be found in technologically advanced societies (relative to primitive societies).
- More people are currently starving now that at any point in history or pre-history
- Work to drive to drive to work to work to drive -- consequently dealing with the traffic jams.
- the prison population grows with advancements in jailing techniques and tools.
- Too much information
- Consumerism
- Pace
- Technicism
- New forms of danger
- Can cause obesity and laziness
- Distraction among students-internet, gaming, etc. can take away from academic performance

Institutions and groups

Technology influences, often enables, organizational and bureaucratic group structures and influence. Example of this include:
- The rise of organizations: e.g., health institutions.
- The commericalization of leisure: sports events, products, etc. (McGinn)
- The advent of large organizational structures.
- Others

International

Technology provides a heightened awareness of international issues, values, and cultures. Due mostly to mass transportation and mass media, the world seems to be a much smaller place due to the following, among others:
- Globalization of ideas
- Embeddedness of values
- Population growth and control
- Others

Environmental

The effects of technology on the environment is 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 impacts (e.g., global warming, deforestation, natural habitat destruction, costal wetland loss) Others

Control

Autonomous technology

In one line of thought, technology develops autonomously, in other words technology seems to feed on itself, moving forward with a force irresistible by humans. To these individuals, technology is "inherently dynamic and self-augmenting." (McGinn, p. 73) Jacques Ellul is one proponent of the irresistibleness of technology to humans. He espouses the idea that humanity cannot resist the temptation of expanding our knowledge and our technological abilities. He, however, does not believe that these seeming autonomy of technology is inherent. But the perceived autonomy is due to the fact that humans do not adequately consider the responsibility that are inherent to technological processes. Another proponent of these ideas is Langdon Winner who believes that technological evolution is essentially beyond the control of individuals or society.

Government

Individuals rely on governmental assistance to control the side effects and negative consequences of technology. Government intervenes many through laws.
- Supposed independence of government. An assumption commonly made about the government is that their governance role is neutral or independent. Often, if not usually, that assumption is misplaced. Governing is a political process, more so in some countries than in others, therefore government will be influenced by political winds of influence. In addition, government provides much of the funding for technological research and development. Therefore, even government has a vested interest in certain outcomes.
- Liability. One means for controlling technology is to place responsibility for the harm with the agent causing the harm. Government can allow more or less legal liability to fall to the organization(s) or individual(s) responsibile for damages.
- Legislation.
- Others

Choice

Society also controls technology through the choices that it makes. These choices not only include consumer demands; it includes
- the channels of distribution, how do products go from raw materials to consumption to disposal;
- the cultural beliefs regarding style, freedom of choice, consumerism, materialism, etc.;
- the economic values we place on the environment, individual wealth, government control, capitalism, etc.
- Others

Technology and philosophy

Technicism

Generally, Technicism is an overreliance or overconfidence in technology as a benefactor of society. Taken to extreme, some argue that technicism is the belief that humanity will ultimately be able to control the entirety of existence using technology. In other words, human beings will eventually be able to master all problems, supply all wants and needs, possibly even control the future. (For a more complete treatment of the topic see the work of Egbert Schuurman, for example at [http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v3n1/schuurman.html].) Some, such as Monsma, et al., connect these ideas to the abdication of God as a higher moral authority. More commonly, technicism is a criticism of the commonly held belief that newer, more recently-developed technology is "better." For example, more recently-developed computers are faster than older computers, and more recently-developed cars have greater gas efficiency and more features than older cars. Since current technologies are generally accepted as good, future technological developments are not considered circumspectly, resulting in what seems to be a blind acceptance of technological developments.

Optimism, pessimism and appropriate technology

Pessimism

On the somewhat pessimistic side, are certain philosophers like Herbert Marcuse, Jacques Ellul, and John Zerzan, who believe that technological societies are inherently flawed a priori. They suggest that the result of such a society is to become evermore technological at the cost of freedom and psychological health (and probably physical health in general as pollution from technological products is dispersed). Perhaps the most poignant criticisms of technology are found in what are now considered to be literary classics, for example Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Optimism

On the other hand, the optimistic assumptions are made by proponents of technoprogressivist views or ideologies such as transhumanism and singularitarianism, that view technological development as generally having beneficial effects for the society and the human condition. In these ideologies, technological development is morally good. Some critics see these ideologies as examples of scientism, mathematical fetishism, or techno-utopianism and fear the idea of technological singularity which they support.

Appropriate technology

The notion of appropriate technology, however, was developed in the twentieth century to describe situations where it was not desirable to use very new technologies or those that required access to some centralized infrastructure or parts or skills imported from elsewhere. The eco-village movement emerged in part due to this concern.

Theories and concepts in technology

There are many theories and concepts that seek to explain the relationship beteen technology and society:
- Appropriate technology
- Diffusion of innovations
- Jacques Ellul's Technological Society, is considered a classic criticism of modern culture's pursuit of technology for its own sake. For more on these ideas see http://www.usd.edu/~ssanto/ellul.html.
- Intermediate technology, more of an economics concern, refers to compromises between central and expensive technologies of developed nations and those which developing nations find most effective to deploy given an excess of labour, and scarcity of cash. In general, a so-called "appropriate" technology will also be "intermediate".
- Persuasion technology, in economics, definitions or assumptions of progress or growth are often related to one or more assumptions about technology's economic influence. Challenging prevailing assumptions about technology and its usefulness has led to alternative ideas like uneconomic growth or measuring well-being. These, and economics itself, can often be described as technologies, specifically, as persuasion technology — a concern covered in its own separate article.
- Posthumanism
- Precautionary principle
- Strategy of technology
- Technocapitalism
- Radovan Richta's theory of technological evolution
- Technological determinism
- Technological diffusion
- Technological singularity
- Technology acceptance model
- Technology lifecycle
- Technology transfer
- Transhumanism

References

- Adas, Michael. Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance, Cornell University Press, 1990.
- Nobel, David. Forces of Production: a social history of industrial automation, New York: Knopf 1984, Paperback Edition: Oxford University Press, 1990.
- McGinn, Robert E. Science, Technology and Society, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1991.
- Monsma, S.V., C. Christians, E.R. Dykema, A. Leegwater, E. Schuurman, and L. VanPoolen. Responsible Technology. Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA): W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986.
- Roussel, P.A., K. N. Saad, and T. J. Erickson. Third Generation R&D, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 1991.
- Winston, M.E. "Children of Invention", in Society, Ethics, and Technology, Second Edition, M.E. Winston and R.D. Edelbach (eds.), Belmont, California (USA): Wadsworth Group/Thomson Learning, 2003.
- Smil, Vaclav. Energy in World History, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, pp. 259-267, as quoted in http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/Technology/Technology.html, maintained by David W. Koeller, Northpark University, Chicago, Illinois (USA), downloaded September 11, 2005.

External links

- [http://www.pneumatica.be basic pneumatics]
- [http://www.memoryzine.com/cognitivetechnolgy.html Cognitive Technology Journal]
- [http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/525392/description#description Cognitive Technology, Elsevier]
- [http://topics.developmentgateway.org/egovernment Development Gateway's e-Government Page] — Depository of various e-government technology resources.
- [http://www.greatachievements.org/ Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century]
- [http://technologybusiness.blogspot.com/ The Business of Technology]
- ko:기술 ms:Teknologi ja:工業 th:เทคโนโลยี

Innovation

Innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved idea, good, service, process or practice that is intended to be useful. Scholars who have studied innovation generally differentiate among five main types of innovation: product innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation, marketing innovation and business model innovation.

Types of innovation

In business and economics, innovation is often divided into five types:
- Product innovation, which involves the introduction of a new good or service that is substantially improved. This might include improvements in functional characteristics, technical abilities, ease of use, or any other dimension
- Process innovation involves the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method.
- Marketing innovation is the development of new marketing methods with improvement in product design or packaging, product promotion or pricing.
- Organizational innovation (also referred as social innovation) involves the creation of new organizations, business practices, ways of running organizations or new organizational behavior.
- Business Model innovation involves changing the way business is done in terms of capturing value e.g. Compaq vs. Dell, hub and spoke airlines vs. Southwest, and Hertz/Avis vs. Enterprise. In addition to dividing innovations into types, innovation is often characterized by its impact on existing markets or businesses. Sustaining innovations allows organizations to continue to approach markets the same way, such as the development of a faster or more fuel efficient car. Disruptive innovations on the other hand, significantly change a market or product category, such as the invention of a cheap, safe personal flying machine that could replace cars. Similarly, incremental innovation is evolutionary innovation, a step forward along a technology trajectory, with a high chance of success and low uncertainty about outcomes. Radical innovation, on the other hand, involves larger leaps in the advancement of a technology or process.

Sources of innovation

Innovation in business is achieved in many ways, with much attention now given to formal research and development for "breakthrough innovations." But innovations may be developed by less formal on-the-job modifications of practice, through exchange and combination of professional experience and by many other routes. The more radical and revolutionary innovations tend to stem from R&D, while more incremental innovations may emerge from practice - but there are many exceptions to each of these trends. Another key source of innovation is user innovation, innovations developed by individuals when existing products do not meet their current needs. User innovators may become entrepreneurs, selling their product, or they may choose to freely reveal their innovations, using methods like open source. In such networks of innovation the creativity of the users or communities of users can further develop technologies and their use. Whether innovation is mainly supply-pushed (based on new technological possibilities) or demand-led (based on social needs and market requirements) has been a hotly debated topic. Similarly, what exactly drives innovation in organizations and economies remains an open question.

Greek language

Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – "Hellenic") is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years. Today, it is spoken by 15 million people in Greece, Cyprus, the former Yugoslavia, particularly The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania and Turkey. There are also many Greek emigrant communities around the world, such as those in Melbourne, Australia which is the third-largest Greek-populated city in the world, after Athens and Thessaloniki. Greek has been written in the Greek alphabet, the first true alphabet, since the 9th century B.C. and before that, in Linear B and the Cypriot syllabaries. Greek literature has a long and rich tradition.

History

This article does not cover the reconstructed history of Greek prior to the use of writing. For more information, see main article on Proto-Greek language. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan Peninsula since the 2nd millennium BC. The earliest evidence of this is found in the Linear B tablets dating from 1500 BC. The later Greek alphabet (q.v.) is unrelated to Linear B, and was derived from the Phoenician alphabet (abjad); with minor modifications, it is still used today. Greek is conventionally divided into the following periods:
- Mycenean Greek: the language of the Mycenean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 16th century BC onwards.
- Classical Greek (also known as Ancient Greek): In its various dialects was the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman empire. Classical Greek fell into disuse in western Europe in the Middle Ages, but remained known in the Byzantine world, and was reintroduced to the rest of Europe with the Fall of Constantinople and Greek migration to Italy.
- Hellenistic Greek (also known as Koine Greek): The fusion of various ancient Greek dialects with Attic (the dialect of Athens) resulted in the creation of the first common Greek dialect, which gradually turned into one of the world's first international languages. Koine Greek can be initially traced within the armies and conquered territories of Alexander the Great, but after the Hellenistic colonisation of the known world, it was spoken from Egypt to the fringes of India. After the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial diglossy of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. Through Koine Greek it is also traced the origin of Christianity, as the Apostles used it to preach in Greece and the Greek-speaking world. It is also known as the Alexandrian dialect, Post-Classical Greek or even New Testament Greek (after its most famous work of literature).
- Medieval Greek: The continuation of Hellenistic Greek during medieval Greek history as the official and vernacular (if not the literary nor the ecclesiastic) language of the Byzantine Empire, and continued to be used until, and after the fall of that Empire in the 15th century. Also known as Byzantine Greek.
- Modern Greek: Stemming independently from Koine Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the late Byzantine period (as early as 11th century). Two main forms of the language have been in use since the end of the medieval Greek period: Dhimotikí (Δημοτική), the Demotic (vernacular) language, and Katharévousa (Καθαρεύουσα), an imitation of classical Greek, which was used for literary, juridic, and scientific purposes during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Demotic Greek is now the official language of the modern Greek state, and the most widely spoken by Greeks today. It has been claimed that an "educated" speaker of the modern language can understand an ancient text, but this is surely as much a function of education as of the similarity of the languages. Still, Koinē , the version of Greek used to write the New Testament and the Septuagint, is relatively easy to understand for modern speakers. Greek words have been widely borrowed into the European languages: astronomy, democracy, philosophy, thespian, etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as a basis for coinages: anthropology, photography, isomer, biomechanics etc. and form, with Latin words, the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary. See English words of Greek origin, and List of Greek words with English derivatives.

Classification

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient languages which were probably most closely related to it, Ancient Macedonian language (which may be regarded as a dialect of Greek) and Phrygian, are not well enough documented to permit detailed comparison. Among living languages, Armenian seems to be the most closely related to it.

Geographic distribution

Modern Greek is spoken by about 15 million people mainly in Greece and Cyprus. There are also Greek-speaking populations in Georgia, Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Southern Italy. The language is spoken also in many other countries where Greeks have settled, including Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Official status

Greek is the official language of Greece where it is spoken by about 99.5% of the population. It is also, alongside Turkish, the official language of Cyprus. Due to the membership of Greece and Cyprus, Greek is one of the 20 official languages of the European Union.

Phonology

This section generally describes the post-Classic phonology of the Greek language. :All phonetic transcriptions in this section use the International Phonetic Alphabet

Vowel sounds

Greek has 5 vowel sounds, all phonemic:

Tool

A tool is a device that provides a mechanical or mental advantage in accomplishing a simple machine, or a combination of them. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more force is transmitted along the lever. Philosophers once thought that only humans used tools, and often defined humans as tool-using animals. But observation has confirmed that monkeys and other animals, mostly primates, but also some birds (ravens, for instance), and sea otters can use tools as well. Later, philosophers thought that only humans have the ability to make tools, until zoologists observed birds[http://users.ox.ac.uk/~kgroup/diameter_select.pdf] and monkeys[http://williamcalvin.com/bk2/bk2ch3.htm][http://www.pbs.org/saf/1504/resources/transcript.htm][http://www.rollinghillswildlife.com/animals/c/chimpanzee/] making tools. Most anthropologists believe that the use of tools was an important step in the evolution of mankind. Humans evolved an opposable thumb (useful to hold the tools) and an increase in intelligence (aiding in the use of tools). Most tools can also serve as weapons, such as the hammer and the knife. Similarly, people can use weapons, such as explosives, as tools.

Varieties of tools

- Devices often typifies a newly invented or specific-purpose tool.
- Instruments are a concrete or abstract tool, in particular a refined one.
- Utensils aid in eating
- Machines can function as an ordered system of tools or as a super-tool.

Physical tools

- Hand tools such as pliers, adze, or axe
- Agricultural tools such as scythe or sickle
- Power tools such as drill or wood router
- Machine tools such as lathe, milling machine or shaping machine
- Hydraulic tools such as the Hurst tool or hydraulic ram
- Heat-based tools such as soldering irons, welding torches and thermic lance
- Eating utensils such as chopsticks, fork, knife, or spoon
- Writing instruments such as ballpoint penor pencil
- Special use tools such as Buggy whip or whetstone
- Multitools such as Swiss Army knife or Leatherman Toy tools make popular playthings. Some simply consist of a cheap or small version of the real thing, such as a shovel and bucket to use on the beach or in a sandbox. Others are less functional, e.g. a dull plastic knife, or not functional at all.

Mental tools

- Language
- Logic
- Tradition
- Algorithms In computing, the term "tools" can also apply to software programs that assist people doing work on computers, such as Computer Aided Software Engineering tools, Lint programming tool, software or web-based collaborative tools, software development tools, programming tools.

Slang Usage

Stemming from a double-entendre where a "tool" is a phallus; this became a popular word in the 1990's. Individuals may be described as "tools", as an insult meaning that someone is a klutz or easily taken advantage of.

Functions of tools

Many tools or groups of tools serve to perform one or more of a set of basic operations, such as:
- Cutting (knife, scythe, sickle, ...)
- Concentrating force (hammer, maul, screwdriver, whip, writing implements, ...)
- Guiding (set square, algorithm, straight edge, tradition, ...)
- Protecting
- Seizing and holding (pliers, glove, wrench, ...)

Product Management of SW tools

A tool is something that serves as a means to an end...

History

Use of tools started at the beginning of the Stone age. Humans have fabricated knives, amongst the oldest tools, since that time. Mechanical devices, though known to Alexandrian Greeks, experienced a major expansion in their use in the Middle Ages with the systematic employment of new energy sources: water (waterwheels) and wind (windmills). Machine tools occasioned a surge in producing new tools in the Industrial revolution. Advocates of nanotechnology expect a similar surge as tools move down-scale. Category:Tools Category:Manufacturing Category:Construction Category:Metalworking hand tools ja:道具 simple:Tool

Machine

For other uses of the term Machine, see Machine (disambiguation) Machine (disambiguation)A machine is any mechanical or organic device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of tasks. It normally requires some energy source ("input") and accomplishes some sort of work. People have used mechanisms and machines to amplify their abilities since before written records were available. Generally these devices decrease the amount of force required to do a given amount of work, alter the direction of the force, or transform one form of motion or energy into another. The mechanical advantage of a simple machine is the ratio between the force it exerts on the load and the input force applied. This does not entirely describe the machine's performance, as force is required to overcome friction as well. The mechanical efficiency of a machine is the ratio of the actual mechanical advantage (AMA) to the ideal mechanical advantage (IMA). Functioning physical machines are always less than 100% efficient. Modern power tools, automated machine tools, and human-operated power machinery complicate the definition of "machine" greatly. Machines used to transform heat or other energy into mechanical energy are known as engines.

Simple machines or mechanical components

- Gear
- Lever
- Pulley
- Wedge
- Spring
- Wheel and Axle
- Bearings
- Belts
- Seals
- Chains

Clock

- Atomic clock
- chronometer
- Pendulum clock
- Quartz clock

Compressors and Pumps

- Archimedes screw
- Eductor-jet pump
- Hydraulic ram
- Tuyau
- Vacuum pump

Internal combustion engine

- Gasoline engine
- Diesel engine
- Four-stroke cycle
- Two-stroke cycle
- Wankel engine

External combustion engine

- Steam engine
- Stirling engine

Linkages

- Pantograph
- Peaucellier-Lipkin

Turbine

- Gas turbine
- Jet engine
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Electron

The electron is a fundamental subatomic particle which carries a negative electric charge.

Overview

Within an atom the electrons surround the nucleus of protons and neutrons in an electron configuration. The word electron was coined in 1894 and is derived from the term electric, whose ultimate origin is the Greek word 'ηλεκτρον, meaning amber. Electrons in motion constitute electric current which may be used by scientists and engineers to measure many physical properties. Electric current existing for a finite time gives rise to a movement of charge (electricity) that may be harnessed as a practical means to perform work. The variations in electric field generated by differing numbers of electrons and their configurations in atoms determine the chemical properties of the elements. These fields play a fundamental role in chemical bonds and chemistry.

Electrons in practice

Classification of electrons

The electron is one of a class of subatomic particles called leptons which are believed to be fundamental particles (that is, they cannot be broken down into smaller constituent parts). The word "particle" is somewhat misleading however, because quantum mechanics shows that electrons also behave like a wave, e.g. in the double-slit experiment; this is called wave-particle duality. The antiparticle of an electron is the positron, which has the same mass but positive rather than negative charge. The term negatron is sometimes used to refer to standard electrons so that the term electron may be used to describe both positrons and negatrons, as proposed by Carl D. Anderson. Under ordinary circumstances, however, electron refers to the negatively charged particle alone.

Properties and behavior of electrons

Electrons have a negative electric charge of −1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ coulombs, and a mass of about 9.11 × 10⁻³¹ kg (0.51 MeV/c²), which is approximately ¹⁄₁₈₃₆ of the mass of the proton. These are commonly represented as e⁻. According to quantum mechanics, electrons can be represented by wavefunctions, from which the electron density can be determined. The exact momentum and position of an electron cannot be simultaneously determined. This is a limitation described by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which, in this instance, simply states that the more accurately we know a particle's position, the less accurately we can know its momentum and vice versa. The electron has spin ½, which implies it is a fermion, i.e., it follows the Fermi-Dirac statistics. While most electrons are found in atoms, others move independently in matter, or together as an electron beam in a vacuum. In some superconductors, electrons move in Cooper pairs, in which their motion is coupled to nearby matter via lattice vibrations called phonons. When electrons move, free of the nuclei of atoms, and there is a net flow, this flow is called electricity, or an electric current. A body has a static charge when the body has more or fewer electrons than are required to balance the positive charge of the nuclei. When there is an excess of electrons, the object is said to be negatively charged. When there are fewer electrons than protons, the object is said to be positively charged. When the number of electrons and the number of protons are equal, their charges cancel out and the object is said to be electrically neutral. A macroscopic body can acquire charge through rubbing, i.e. the phenomena of triboelectricity. Electrons and positrons can annihilate each other and produce a pair of photons. Conversely, high-energy photons may transform into an electron and a positron by a process called pair production. The electron is an elementary particle — that means that it has no substructure (at least, experiments have not found any so far, and there is good reason to believe that there is not any). Hence, it is usually described as point-like, i.e. with no spatial extension. However, if one gets very near an electron, one notices that its properties (charge and mass) seem to change. This is an effect common to all elementary particles: the particle influences the vacuum fluctuations in its vicinity, so that the properties one observes from far away are the sum of the bare properties and the vacuum effects (see renormalization). There is a physical constant called the classical electron radius, with a value of 2.8179 × 10⁻¹⁵ m. Note that this is the radius that one could infer from its charge if the physics were only described by the classical theory of electrodynamics and there were no quantum mechanics (hence, it is an outdated concept that nevertheless sometimes still proves useful in calculations). The speed of an electron in a vacuum can approach, but never reach c, the speed of light in a vacuum. This is due to an effect of special relativity. The effects of special relativity are based on a quantity known as gamma or the Lorentz factor. Gamma is a function of v, the velocity of the particle, and c. The following is the formula for gamma: :

\gamma = 1 / \sqrt

The energy necessary to accelerate a particle is gamma minus one times the rest mass. For example, the linear accelerator at Stanford can [http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/relativity.html accelerate] an electron to roughly 51 GeV. This gives you a gamma of 100,000 given that the rest mass of an electron is 0.51 MeV/c² (the relativistic mass of this fast electron is 100 000 times its rest mass). Solving the equation above for the speed of the electron gives a speed of: :

(1-\frac   \gamma ^)c

= 0.999 999 999 95 c. (The formula applies for large γ.)

Electrons in the universe

It is believed that the number of electrons existing in the known universe is at least 10⁷⁹. This number amounts to a density of about one electron per cubic metre of space. Based on the classical electron radius and assuming a dense sphere packing, it can be calculated that the number of electrons that would fit in the observable universe is on the order of 10¹³⁰. Of course, this number is even less meaningful than the classical electron radius itself.

Electrons in industry

Electron beams are used in welding as well as lithography.

Electrons in the laboratory

Early experiments

The quantum or discrete nature of electron's charge was observed by Robert Millikan in the Oil-drop experiment of 1909.

Use of electrons in the laboratory

Electron microscopes are used to magnify details up to 500,000 times. Quantum effects of electrons are used in Scanning tunneling microscope to study features at the atomic scale.

Electrons in theory

In relativistic quantum mechanics, the electron is described by the Dirac Equation. Quantum electrodynamics (QED) models an electron as a charged particle surrounded a sea of interacting virtual particles, modifying the sea of virtual particles which makes up a vacuum. Although this theory involves difficult theoretical problems where calculations produce infinite terms, a practical (although mathematically dubious) method called renormalization was discovered whereby infinite terms can be cancelled to produce finite predictions about the electron. The correction of just over 0.1% to the predicted value of the electron's gyromagnetic ratio from exactly 2 (as predicted by Dirac's single particle model), and its extraordinarily precise agreement with the experimentally determined value, is viewed as one of the pinnacles of modern physics. There are now indications that string theory and its descendants may provide a model of the electron and other fundamental particles where the infinities in calculations do not appear, because the electron is no longer seen as a dimensionless point. At present, string theory is very much a 'work in progress' and lacks predictions analogous to those made by QED that can be experimentally verified. In the Standard Model of particle physics, it forms a doublet in SU(2) with the electron neutrino, as they interact through the weak interaction. The electron has two more massive partners, with the same charge but different masses: the muon and the tau lepton. The antimatter counterpart of the electron is its antiparticle, the positron. The positron has the same amount of electrical charge as the electron, except that the charge is positive. It has the same mass and spin as the electron. When an electron and a positron meet, they may annihilate each other, giving rise to two gamma-ray photons, each having an energy of 0.511 MeV (511 keV). See also Electron-positron annihilation. Electrons are also a key element in electromagnetism, an approximate theory that is adequate for macroscopic systems, and for classical modelling of microscopic systems.

History

The electron as a unit of charge in electrochemistry had been posited by G. Johnstone Stoney in 1874. In 1894, he also invented the word itself. The discovery that the electron was a subatomic particle was made in 1897 by J.J. Thomson at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, while he was studying "cathode rays". Influenced by the work of James Clerk Maxwell, and the discovery of the X-ray, he deduced that cathode rays existed and were negatively charged "particles", which he called "corpuscles". He published his discovery in 1897. The periodic law states that the chemical properties of elements largely repeat themselves periodically and is the foundation of the periodic table of elements. The law itself was initially explained by the atomic mass of the elements. However, as there were anomalies in the periodic table, efforts were made to find a better explanation for it. In 1913, Henry Moseley introduced the concept of the atomic number and explained the periodic law with the number of protons each element has. In the same year, Niels Bohr showed that electrons are the actual foundation of the table. In 1916, Gilbert Newton Lewis and Irving Langmuir explained the chemical bonding of elements by electronic interactions.

External links

- [http://www.aip.org/history/electron/ The Discovery of the Electron] from the American Institute of Physics History Center
- [http://pdg.lbl.gov/ Particle Data Group]
- Stoney, G. Johnstone, "[http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Chem-History/Stoney-1894.html Of the 'Electron,' or Atom of Electricity]". Philosophical Magazine. Series 5, Volume 38, p. 418-420 October 1894.
- Eric Weisstein's World of Physics: [http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Electron.html Electron]

References

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- Brumfiel, G. (6 January 2005). Can electrons do the splits? In Nature, 433, 11. ko:전자 ja:電子 simple:Electron th:อิเล็กตรอน

Electric current

In electricity, current refers to electric current, which is the flow of electric charge. Lightning is an example of an electric current, as is the solar wind, the source of the polar aurora. Probably the most familiar form of electric current is the flow of conduction electrons in a metallic wire. This is how utility companies deliver electricity. In electronics, electric current is most often the flow of electrons through conductors and devices such as resistors, but it is also the flow of ions inside a battery or the flow of holes within a semiconductor.

Relation between current and charge

The symbol typically used for the amount of current (the amount of charge Q flowing per unit of time t) is I, from the German word Intensität, which means 'intensity'. :

I =

Formally this is written as :

i(t) =

or inversely as

q(t) = \int_^ i(x)\, dx

Conventional current

Conventional current was defined early in the history of electrical science as a flow of positive charge. In solid metals, like wires, the positive charges are immobile, and only the negatively charged electrons flow in the direction opposite conventional current, but this is not the case in most non-metallic conductors. In other materials, charged particles flow in both directions at the same time. Electric currents in electrolytes are flows of electrically charged atoms (ions), which exist in both positive and negative varieties. For example, an electrochemical cell may be constructed with salt water (a solution of sodium chloride) on one side of a membrane and pure water on the other. The membrane lets the positive sodium ions pass, but not the negative chlorine ions, so a net current results. Electric currents in plasma are flows of electrons as well as positive and negative ions. In ice and in certain solid electrolytes, flowing protons constitute the electric current. To simplify this situation, the original definition of conventional current still stands. There are also instances where the electrons are the charge that is physically moving, but where it makes more sense to think of the current as the movement of positive "holes" (the spots that should have an electron to make the conductor neutral). This is the case in a p-type semiconductor. The SI unit of electrical current is the ampere. Electric current is therefore sometimes informally referred to as amperage or ampage, by analogy with the term voltage. Though this is a valid term, some engineers frown on it.

The speed of an electric current

The charged particles whose movement causes an electric current do not always move in straight lines. In metals, for example, they follow an erratic path, bouncing from atom to atom, but generally drifting in the direction of the electric field. The speed at which they drift can be calculated from the equation: :

I=nAvQ \!\

where :I is the current :n is number of charged particles per unit volume :A is the cross-sectional area of the conductor :v is the drift velocity, and :Q is the charge on each particle. For example, in a copper wire of cross-section 0.5 mm², carrying a current of 5 A, the drift velocity of the electrons is of the order of a millimetre per second. To take a different example, in the near-vacuum inside a cathode ray tube, the electrons travel in near-straight lines ("ballistically") at about a tenth of the speed of light. However, we know that an electric signal travels much faster than this; usually close to the speed of light. These results show that the speed of the charged particles is not necessarily related to the speed of the electric signal. To understand how signals travel faster than the particles that carry them, it is necessary to understand the properties of electromagnetic waves (see article).

Current density

Current density is the current per unit (cross-sectional) area. Mathematically, current is defined as the net flux through an area. Thus: :

I = j \cdot A

where, in the MKS or SI system of measurement, :I is the current, measured in amperes :j is the "current density" measured in amperes per square metre :A is the area through which the current is flowing, measured in square metres The current density is defined as: :

j=\int_i n_i \cdot x_i \cdot \mathbf

where :n is the particle density (number of particles per unit volume) :x is the mass, charge, or any other characteristic whose flow one would like to measure. :u is the average velocity of the particles in each volume Current density is an important consideration in the design of electrical and electronic systems. Most electrical conductors have a finite, positive resistance, making them dissipate power in the form of heat. The current density must be kept sufficiently low to prevent the conductor from melting or burning up, or the insulating material failing. In superconductors, excessive current density may generate a strong enough magnetic field to cause spontaneous loss of the superconductive property.

Electromagnetism

Every electric current produces a magnetic field. The magnetic field can be visualized as a pattern of circular field lines surrounding the wire. Electric current can be directly measured with a galvanometer, but this method involves breaking the circuit, which is sometimes inconvenient. Current can also be measured without breaking the circuit by detecting the magnetic field it creates. Devices used for this include Hall effect sensors, current clamps and Rogowski coils.

Ohm's law

Ohm's law predicts the current in an (ideal) resistor (or other ohmic device) to be the quotient of applied voltage over electrical resistance: :

I = \frac

where :I is the current, measured in amperes :V is the potential difference measured in volts :R is the resistance measured in ohms

Electrical safety

The danger of an electric shock depends on the current (in milliamperes), duration and the current's path in the body:
- 1 mA causes a tingle
- 5 mA causes a slight shock
- 50 to 150 mA may result in death, e.g. through rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) and resultant acute renal failure
- 1-4 A causes ventricular fibrillation
- 10 A causes cardiac arrest (only at this current will a typical home fuse break the circuit) Currents through the heart and the nervous system are the most dangerous. As most dangerous sources are voltage sources, the current present depends on the resistance of the body between the points of contact and any current limiting built into the source. The comparison between the dangers of alternating current and direct current has been a subject of debate ever since the War of Currents in the 1880s. DC tends to cause continuous muscular contractions that make the victim hold on to a live conductor, thereby increasing the risk of deep tissue burns. On the other hand, mains-frequency AC tends to interfere more with the heart's electrical pace