{"id":173500,"date":"2016-08-27T19:13:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-27T23:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/history-of-technology-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia\/"},"modified":"2016-08-27T19:13:06","modified_gmt":"2016-08-27T23:13:06","slug":"history-of-technology-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/technology\/history-of-technology-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia\/","title":{"rendered":"History of technology &#8211; Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><p>    The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques and is    similar to other sides of the history of    humanity. Technology can refer to methods ranging from as    simple as language and stone tools to the    complex genetic engineering and information technology that has    emerged since the 1980s.  <\/p>\n<p>    New knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and    conversely, many scientific endeavors are made possible by    technologies which assist humans in travelling to places they    could not previously reach, and by scientific instruments by which we    study nature in more detail than our natural senses allow.  <\/p>\n<p>    Since much of technology is applied science, technical history    is connected to the history of science. Since technology    uses resources,    technical history is tightly connected to economic    history. From those resources, technology produces other    resources, including technological artifacts used in    everyday    life.  <\/p>\n<p>    Technological change affects, and is    affected by, a society's cultural traditions. It is a force for economic    growth and a means to develop and project economic,    political and military power.  <\/p>\n<p>    Many sociologists and anthropologists have created social theories    dealing with social and cultural    evolution. Some, like Lewis H. Morgan, Leslie White, and    Gerhard    Lenski, have declared technological progress to be the    primary factor driving the development of human civilization.    Morgan's concept of three major stages of social evolution    (savagery, barbarism, and civilization) can    be divided by technological milestones, such as fire. White argued the measure by    which to judge the evolution of culture was energy.[1]  <\/p>\n<p>    For White, \"the primary function of culture\" is to \"harness and control    energy.\" White differentiates between five stages of human development: In the    first, people use energy of their own muscles. In the second,    they use energy of domesticated animals. In    the third, they use the energy of plants (agricultural revolution). In the    fourth, they learn to use the energy of natural    resources: coal, oil, gas. In the fifth, they harness    nuclear    energy. White introduced a formula P=E*T, where E is a    measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of efficiency    of technical factors utilizing the energy. In his own words,    \"culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita    per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental    means of putting the energy to work is increased\". Russian    astronomer Nikolai Kardashev extrapolated his    theory, creating the Kardashev scale, which categorizes the    energy use of advanced civilizations.  <\/p>\n<p>    Lenski's approach focuses on information. The more information and    knowledge (especially allowing the shaping of natural    environment) a given society has, the more advanced it is.    He identifies four stages of human development, based on    advances in the history of communication. In the    first stage, information is passed by genes. In the second, when humans gain    sentience, they    can learn and pass information through by experience.    In the third, the humans start using signs and develop logic. In the fourth, they can    create symbols,    develop language    and writing.    Advancements in communications technology    translates into advancements in the economic    system and political system, distribution of wealth, social    inequality and other spheres of social life. He also    differentiates societies based on their level of technology,    communication and economy:  <\/p>\n<p>    In economics productivity is a measure of technological    progress. Productivity increases when fewer inputs (labor,    energy, materials or land) are used in the production of a unit    of output.[2] Another indicator of technological    progress is the development of new products and services, which    is necessary to offset unemployment that would otherwise result    as labor inputs are reduced. In developed countries    productivity growth has been slowing since the late 1970s;    however, productivity growth was higher in some economic    sectors, such as manufacturing.[3] For example,    in employment in manufacturing in the    United States declined from over 30% in the 1940s to just    over 10% 70 years later. Similar changes occurred in other    developed countries. This stage is referred to as    post-industrial.  <\/p>\n<p>    In the late 1970s sociologists and anthropologists like    Alvin    Toffler (author of Future Shock), Daniel Bell and    John    Naisbitt have approached the theories of post-industrial societies,    arguing that the current era of industrial society is coming to an    end, and services and information are becoming    more important than industry and goods. Some extreme visions of the    post-industrial society, especially in fiction, are strikingly similar to    the visions of near and post-Singularity societies.  <\/p>\n<p>    The following is a summary of the history of technology by time    period and geography:  <\/p>\n<p>          -10        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -9        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -8        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -7        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -6        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -5        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -4        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -3        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -2        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          -1        <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>          0        <\/p>\n<p>    During most of the Paleolithic - the bulk of the Stone Age -    all humans had a lifestyle which involved limited tools and few    permanent settlements. The first major technologies were tied    to survival, hunting, and food preparation. Stone tools and weapons, fire, and clothing were    technological developments of major importance during this    period.  <\/p>\n<p>    Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since    long before the emergence of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000    years ago.[4] The earliest methods of stone tool making,    known as the Oldowan \"industry\", date back to at least 2.3    million years ago,[5] with the    earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the    Great Rift Valley, dating back    to 2.5 million years ago.[6] This era of    stone tool use is called the Paleolithic, or \"Old stone age\",    and spans all of human history up to the development of    agriculture    approximately 12,000 years ago.  <\/p>\n<p>    To make a stone tool, a \"core\" of hard stone with specific flaking    properties (such as flint) was struck with a hammerstone. This    flaking produced sharp edges which could be used as tools,    primarily in the form of choppers or scrapers.[7] These tools greatly    aided the early humans in their hunter-gatherer lifestyle to    perform a variety of tasks including butchering carcasses (and breaking bones to    get at the marrow); chopping wood; cracking open nuts;    skinning an animal for its hide; and even forming other    tools out of softer materials such as bone and wood.[8]  <\/p>\n<p>    The earliest stone tools were crude, being little more than a    fractured rock. In the Acheulian era, beginning    approximately 1.65 million years ago, methods of working these    stone into specific shapes, such as hand axes emerged. This early Stone Age is    described as Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic. The    former is generally used to describe the early Stone Age in    areas with limited glacial impact.  <\/p>\n<p>    The Middle Paleolithic, approximately    300,000 years ago, saw the introduction of the prepared-core technique, where    multiple blades could be rapidly formed from a single core    stone.[7]    The Upper Paleolithic, beginning    approximately 40,000 years ago, saw the introduction of    pressure flaking, where a wood, bone, or    antler punch could be used to shape a    stone very finely.[9]  <\/p>\n<p>    The later Stone Age, during which the rudiments of agricultural    technology were developed, is called the Neolithic period.    During this period, polished stone tools were made from a variety of hard    rocks such as flint,    jade, jadeite and greenstone, largely    by working exposures as quarries, but later the valuable rocks    were pursued by tunnelling underground, the first steps in    mining technology. The polished axes were used for forest    clearance and the establishment of crop farming, and were so    effective as to remain in use when bronze and iron appeared.  <\/p>\n<p>    Stone Age cultures developed music, and engaged in organized    warfare. Stone Age humans developed    ocean-worthy outrigger canoe technology, leading to    migration across the Malay archipelago, across the Indian    Ocean to Madagascar and also across the Pacific Ocean,    which required knowledge of the ocean currents, weather    patterns, sailing, and celestial navigation.  <\/p>\n<p>    Although Paleolithic cultures left no written records, the    shift from nomadic life to settlement and agriculture can be    inferred from a range of archaeological evidence. Such evidence    includes ancient tools,[10]cave paintings,    and other prehistoric art, such as the Venus    of Willendorf. Human remains also provide direct evidence,    both through the examination of bones, and the study of    mummies. Scientists and    historians have been able to form significant inferences about    the lifestyle and culture of various prehistoric peoples, and    especially their technology.  <\/p>\n<p>    The Stone Age developed into the Bronze Age after the Neolithic Revolution. The Neolithic    Revolution involved radical changes in agricultural technology    which included development of agriculture, animal    domestication, and the adoption of    permanent settlements. These combined factors made possible the    development of metal smelting, with copper and later bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, being the materials of choice,    although polished stone tools continued to be used for a    considerable time owing to their abundance compared with the    less common metals (especially tin).  <\/p>\n<p>    This technological trend apparently began in the Fertile    Crescent, and spread outward over time. These developments    were not, and still are not, universal. The three-age    system does not accurately describe the technology history    of groups outside of Eurasia, and does not apply at all in the case of    some isolated populations, such as the Spinifex People, the Sentinelese, and various Amazonian    tribes, which still make use of Stone Age technology, and have    not developed agricultural or metal technology.  <\/p>\n<p>    The Iron age involved the adoption of iron    smelting    technology. It generally replaced bronze, and made it possible    to produce tools which were stronger, lighter and cheaper to    make than bronze equivalents. In many Eurasian cultures, the    Iron Age was the last major step before the development of    written language, though again this was not universally the    case. It was not possible to mass manufacture steel because    high furnace temperatures were needed, but steel could be produced by    forging bloomery    iron to reduce the carbon content in a controllable way. Iron    ores were much more widespread than either copper or tin. In    Europe, large hill forts were built either as a refuge    in time of war, or sometimes as permanent settlements. In some    cases, existing forts from the Bronze Age were expanded and    enlarged. The pace of land clearance using the more effective    iron axes increased, providing more farmland to support the    growing population.  <\/p>\n<p>    It was the growth of the ancient civilizations which produced    the greatest advances in technology and engineering, advances    which stimulated other societies to adopt new ways of living    and governance.  <\/p>\n<p>    The Egyptians    invented and used many simple machines, such as the ramp to aid    construction processes. The Indus Valley Civilization,    situated in a resource-rich area, is notable for its early    application of city planning and sanitation technologies.    Ancient India was also at the forefront of seafaring    technologya panel found at Mohenjodaro depicts a    sailing craft. Indian construction and architecture, called    'Vaastu Shastra', suggests a thorough    understanding of materials engineering, hydrology, and    sanitation.  <\/p>\n<p>    The peoples of Mesopotamia (Sumerians, Assyrians, and Babylonians) have    been credited with the invention of the wheel, but this is no longer certain. They    lived in cities from c. 4000BC,[11] and    developed a sophisticated architecture in mud-brick and    stone,[12] including the use of the true    arch. The walls of Babylon were so massive they were quoted as    a Wonder of the World. They    developed extensive water systems; canals for transport and    irrigation in the alluvial south, and catchment systems    stretching for tens of kilometres in the hilly north. Their    palaces had sophisticated drainage systems.[13]  <\/p>\n<p>    Writing was invented in Mesopotamia, using cuneiform script. Many records on clay tablets    and stone inscriptions have survived. These civilizations were    early adopters of bronze technologies which they used for    tools, weapons and monumental statuary. By 1200BC they    could cast objects 5 m long in a single piece. The Assyrian    King Sennacherib (704-681BC) claims to have    invented automatic sluices and to have been the first to use    water screws, of up to 30 tons weight, which were cast using    two-part clay moulds rather than by the 'lost wax'    process.[13]    The Jerwan Aqueduct (c. 688BC) is made with stone arches    and lined with waterproof concrete.[14]  <\/p>\n<p>    The Babylonian astronomical    diaries spanned 800 years. They enabled meticulous    astronomers to plot the motions of the planets and to predict    eclipses.[15]  <\/p>\n<p>    The Chinese made many first-known discoveries and developments.    Major technological contributions from China include early    seismological    detectors, matches, paper, sliding calipers, the double-action piston    pump, cast    iron, the iron plough, the multi-tube seed drill, the    wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, the parachute,    natural gas as fuel, the compass, the raised-relief map, the propeller,    the crossbow, the    South Pointing Chariot and    gunpowder.  <\/p>\n<p>    Other Chinese discoveries and inventions from the Medieval    period,include: block printing,    movable type    printing, phosphorescent paint, endless power chain drive and the    clock escapement mechanism. The solid-fuel rocket was invented in China    about 1150, nearly 200 years after the invention of gunpowder (which acted    as the rocket's fuel). Decades before the West's age of    exploration, the Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty also sent large    fleets for maritime voyages, some reaching Africa.  <\/p>\n<p>    Greek    and Hellenistic    engineers were responsible for myriad    inventions and improvements to existing technology. The    Hellenistic period in particular saw a    sharp increase in technological advancement, fostered by a    climate of openness to new ideas, the blossoming of a    mechanistic philosophy, and the establishment of the Library of Alexandria and its close    association with the adjacent museion. In contrast to the    typically anonymous inventors of earlier ages, ingenious minds    such as Archimedes, Philo of Byzantium, Heron, Ctesibius, and Archytas remain known by name to    posterity.  <\/p>\n<p>    Ancient Greek innovations were particularly pronounced in    mechanical technology, including the ground-breaking invention    of the watermill which constituted the first    human-devised motive force not to rely on muscle power (besides    the sail). Apart from    their pioneering use of waterpower, Greek inventors were also    the first to experiment with wind power (see Heron's windwheel) and even created    the earliest steam engine (the aeolipile), opening up entirely new    possibilities in harnessing natural forces whose full potential    would not be exploited until the Industrial Revolution. The newly    devised right-angled gear    and screw would become    particularly important to the operation of mechanical devices.    Thats when when the age of mechanical devices started.  <\/p>\n<p>    Ancient agriculture, as in any period prior to the modern age    the primary mode of production and subsistence, and its    irrigation methods, were considerably advanced by the invention    and widespread application of a number of previously unknown    water-lifting devices, such as the vertical water-wheel, the compartmented wheel, the    water turbine,    Archimedes' screw, the bucket-chain and    pot-garland, the force pump, the suction pump, the double-action piston pump and    quite possibly the chain pump.[16]  <\/p>\n<p>    In music, the water organ, invented by Ctesibius and    subsequently improved, constituted the earliest instance of a    keyboard instrument. In time-keeping,    the introduction of the inflow clepsydra and its mechanization by the    dial and pointer, the application of a feedback system and the escapement mechanism    far superseded the earlier outflow clepsydra.  <\/p>\n<p>    The famous Antikythera mechanism, a kind of    analogous computer working with a differential gear, and the astrolabe both show    great refinement in astronomical science.  <\/p>\n<p>    Greek engineers were also the first to devise automata such as vending machines, suspended ink    pots, automatic washstands and doors, primarily as toys, which    however featured many new useful mechanisms such as the    cam and gimbals.  <\/p>\n<p>    In other fields, ancient Greek inventions include the catapult and the gastraphetes    crossbow in warfare, hollow bronze-casting in metallurgy, the    dioptra for    surveying, in infrastructure the lighthouse, central    heating, the tunnel excavated from both ends by    scientific calculations, the ship trackway, the dry dock and plumbing. In horizontal    vertical and transport great progress resulted from the    invention of the crane, the winch, the wheelbarrow and the odometer.  <\/p>\n<p>    Further newly created techniques and items were spiral staircases, the    chain    drive, sliding calipers and showers.  <\/p>\n<p>    The Romans developed an intensive and    sophisticated agriculture, expanded upon existing iron working    technology, created laws providing for individual ownership,    advanced stone masonry technology, advanced road-building (exceeded only in the 19th    century), military engineering, civil engineering, spinning and    weaving and several different machines like the Gallic reaper that helped to    increase productivity in many sectors of the Roman economy.    Roman engineers were the first to build monumental arches,    amphitheatres, aqueducts,    public baths,    true arch    bridges, harbours, reservoirs and dams, vaults and domes on a very large scale across    their Empire. Notable Roman inventions include the book (Codex), glass blowing and concrete. Because Rome was located on a    volcanic peninsula, with sand which contained suitable    crystalline grains, the concrete which the Romans formulated was    especially durable. Some of their buildings have lasted 2000    years, to the present day.  <\/p>\n<p>    The engineering skills of the Inca and the Mayans    were great, even by today's standards. An example is the use of    pieces weighing upwards of one ton in their stonework placed    together so that not even a blade can fit in-between the    cracks. The villages used irrigation canals and drainage systems, making    agriculture very efficient. While some claim that the Incas    were the first inventors of hydroponics, their agricultural technology    was still soil based, if advanced. Though the Maya    civilization had no metallurgy or wheel technology, they    developed complex writing and astrological systems, and created    sculptural works in stone and flint. Like the Inca, the Maya    also had command of fairly advanced agricultural and    construction technology. Throughout this time period, much of    this construction was made only by women, as men of the Maya    civilization believed that females were responsible for the    creation of new things. The main contribution of the Aztec rule was a system of    communications between the conquered cities. In Mesoamerica,    without draft animals for transport (nor, as a result, wheeled    vehicles), the roads were designed for travel on foot, just    like the Inca and Mayan civilizations  <\/p>\n<p>    As earlier empires had done, the Muslim caliphates united in    trade large areas that had previously traded little. The    conquered sometimes paid lower taxes than in their earlier    independence, and ideas spread even more easily than goods.    Peace was more frequent than it had been. These conditions    fostered improvements in agriculture and other technology as    well as in sciences which largely adapted from earlier Greek,    Roman and Persian empires, with improvements.  <\/p>\n<p>    European technology in the Middle Ages may be best described as a    symbiosis of traditio et innovatio. While medieval    technology has been long depicted as a step backwards in the    evolution of Western technology, sometimes willfully so by    modern authors intent on denouncing the church as antagonistic    to scientific progress (see e.g. Myth of the Flat Earth), a    generation of medievalists around the American historian of    science Lynn White stressed from the 1940s onwards the    innovative character of many medieval techniques. Genuine    medieval contributions include for example mechanical clocks, spectacles and vertical windmills. Medieval    ingenuity was also displayed in the invention of seemingly    inconspicuous items like the watermark or the functional button.    In navigation, the foundation to the subsequent age of exploration was laid by the    introduction of pintle-and-gudgeon rudders, lateen sails, the    dry compass, the horseshoe and the astrolabe.  <\/p>\n<p>    Significant advances were also made in military technology with    the development of plate armour, steel crossbows, counterweight trebuchets and cannon. The Middle Ages are    perhaps best known for their architectural heritage: While the    invention of the rib vault and pointed arch gave rise to the high rising Gothic    style, the ubiquitous medieval fortifications gave the era    the almost proverbial title of the 'age of castles'.  <\/p>\n<p>    Papermaking, a 2nd-century Chinese    technology, was carried to the Middle East when a group of    Chinese papermakers were captured in the 8th century.[17] Papermaking technology was    spread to Europe by the Umayyad conquest of    Hispania.[18] A paper mill was established in    Sicily in the 12th century. In Europe the fiber to make pulp    for making paper was obtained from linen and cotton rags. Lynn    White credited the spinning wheel with increasing the supply of    rags, which led to cheap paper, which was a factor in the    development of printing.[19]  <\/p>\n<p>    The era is marked by such profound technical advancements like    linear perceptivity, double shell domes or Bastion fortresses. Note books of the    Renaissance artist-engineers such as Taccola and Leonardo da    Vinci give a deep insight into the mechanical technology    then known and applied. Architects and engineers were inspired    by the structures of Ancient Rome, and men like Brunelleschi created the large dome    of Florence Cathedral as a result. He was    awarded one of the first patents ever issued in order to protect an    ingenious crane he designed to raise the large    masonry stones to the top of the structure. Military technology    developed rapidly with the widespread use of the cross-bow and ever more powerful artillery, as the    city-states of Italy were usually in conflict with one another.    Powerful families like the Medici were strong patrons of    the arts and sciences. Renaissance science    spawned the Scientific    Revolution; science and technology began a cycle of mutual    advancement.  <\/p>\n<p>    The invention of the movable cast metal type printing    press, whose pressing mechanism was adapted from an olive    screw press, (c. 1441) lead to a tremendous increase in the    number of books and the number of titles published.  <\/p>\n<p>    An improved sailing ship, the (nau or carrack), enabled the Age of Exploration with the European colonization    of the Americas, epitomized by Francis Bacon's New Atlantis.    Pioneers like Vasco da Gama, Cabral, Magellan and Christopher Columbus explored the    world in search of new trade routes for their goods and    contacts with Africa, India and China to shorten the journey    compared with traditional routes overland. They produced new    maps and charts which enabled following mariners to explore    further with greater confidence. Navigation was generally    difficult, however, owing to the problem of longitude and the absence    of accurate chronometers. European powers    rediscovered the idea of the civil code, lost since the time of the Ancient    Greeks.  <\/p>\n<p>    The British Industrial Revolution is    characterized by developments in the areas of textile manufacturing,    mining, metallurgy and    transport    driven by the development of the steam engine. Above all else, the    revolution was driven by cheap energy in the form of coal, produced in ever-increasing    amounts from the abundant resources of Britain. Coal    converted to coke gave the blast furnace and cast iron in much    larger amounts than before, and a range of structures could be    created, such as The Iron Bridge. Cheap coal meant that    industry was no longer constrained by water resources driving    the mills, although it continued as a valuable source of power.    The steam engine helped drain the mines, so more coal reserves    could be accessed, and the output of coal increased. The    development of the high-pressure steam engine made locomotives    possible, and a transport revolution followed.[20]  <\/p>\n<p>    The 19th century saw astonishing developments in    transportation, construction, manufacturing and communication    technologies originating in Europe. The steam engine    which had existed since the early 18th century, was practically    applied to both steamboat and railway transportation. The    Liverpool and Manchester    Railway, the first purpose built railway line, opened in    1830, the Rocket locomotive of Robert    Stephenson being one of its first working locomotives used. Telegraphy also    developed into a practical technology in the 19th century to    help run the railways safely.  <\/p>\n<p>    Other technologies were explored for the first time, including    the incandescent light bulb. The    invention of the incandescent light bulb had a profound effect    on the workplace because factories could now have second and    third shift workers. Manufacture of ships' pulley blocks by    all-metal machines at the Portsmouth Block Mills instigated    the age of mass production. Machine tools used by engineers to    manufacture parts began in the first decade of the century,    notably by Richard Roberts and Joseph    Whitworth. The development of interchangeable parts through what    is now called the American system of    manufacturing began in the firearms industry at the U.S    Federal arsenals in the early 19th century, and became widely    used by the end of the century.  <\/p>\n<p>    Shoe production was mechanized and sewing    machines introduced around the middle of the 19th century.    Mass production of sewing machines and agricultural machinery such as    reapers occurred in the mid to late 19th century. Bicycles were    mass-produced beginning in the 1880s.  <\/p>\n<p>    Steam-powered factories became widespread, although the    conversion from water power to steam occurred in England before    in the U.S.  <\/p>\n<p>    Steamships were    eventually completely iron-clad, and played a role in the    opening of Japan and China to trade with the West. The Second Industrial Revolution    at the end of the 19th century saw rapid development of    chemical, electrical, petroleum, and steel technologies    connected with highly structured technology research.  <\/p>\n<p>    The period from the last third of the 19th century until WW1 is    sometimes referred to as the Second Industrial    Revolution.  <\/p>\n<p>    20th century technology developed rapidly. Broad teaching and    implementation of the scientific method, and increased    research spending contributed to the advancement of modern    science and technology. New technology improved communication    and transport, thus spreading technical understanding.  <\/p>\n<p>    Mass    production brought automobiles and other    high-tech goods to masses of consumers. Military research and development sped    advances including electronic computing and jet engines. Radio and telephony improved greatly and spread to larger    populations of users, though near-universal access would not be    possible until mobile phones became    affordable to developing world    residents in the late 2000s and early 2010s.  <\/p>\n<p>    Energy and engine technology improvements included nuclear power,    developed after the Manhattan project    which heralded the new Atomic Age. Rocket development led to long range missiles and    the first space age that lasted from the 1950s with the    launch of Sputnik to the mid-1980s.  <\/p>\n<p>    Electrification spread rapidly in the    20th century. At the beginning of the century electric power    was for the most part only available to wealthy people in a few    major cities such as New York, London, Paris, and Newcastle    upon Tyne, but by the time the World Wide Web was invented in 1990    an estimated 62 percent of homes worldwide had electric power,    including about a third of households in [21] the    rural developing world.  <\/p>\n<p>    Birth    control also became widespread during the 20th century.    Electron microscopes were very    powerful by the late 1970s and genetic theory and knowledge    were expanding, leading to developments in genetic    engineering .  <\/p>\n<p>    The first \"test tube baby\" Louise Brown was    born in 1978, which led to the first successful gestational surrogacy pregnancy in    1985 and the first pregnancy by ICSI in 1991, which is    the implanting of a single sperm into an egg. Preimplantation genetic    diagnosis was first performed in late 1989 and led to    successful births in July 1990. These procedures have become    relatively common and are changing the concept of what it means    to be a parent.  <\/p>\n<p>    The massive data analysis resources necessary for running    transatlantic research programs such as the Human    Genome Project and the Large    Electron-Positron Collider led to a necessity for    distributed communications, causing Internet protocols to be    more widely adopted by researchers and also creating a    justification for Tim Berners-Lee to create the World Wide    Web.  <\/p>\n<p>    Vaccination    spread rapidly to the developing world from the 1980s onward    due to many successful humanitarian initiatives, greatly    reducing childhood mortality in many poor countries with    limited medical resources.  <\/p>\n<p>    The US National Academy of    Engineering, by expert vote, established the following    ranking of the most important technological developments of the    20th century:[22]  <\/p>\n<p>    In the early 21st century research is ongoing into quantum computers, gene therapy    (introduced 1990), 3D printing (introduced 1981), nanotechnology (introduced 1985), bioengineering\/biotechnology,    nuclear technology, advanced    materials (e.g., graphene), the scramjet and drones (along with railguns and high-energy    laser beams for military uses), superconductivity, the memristor, and green    technologies such as alternative fuels (e.g., fuel    cells, self-driving electric & plug-in hybrid cars),    augmented reality devices and wearable electronics, artificial intelligence, and more    efficient & powerful LEDs, solar cells, integrated circuits, wireless power devices, engines, and    batteries.  <\/p>\n<p>    Perhaps the greatest research tool built in the 21st century is    the Large Hadron Collider, the largest    single machine ever built. The understanding of particle    physics is expected to expand with better instruments    including larger particle accelerators such as the    LHC [23] and better neutrino    detectors. Dark matter is sought via underground    detectors and observatories like LIGO have started to detect gravitational waves.  <\/p>\n<p>    Genetic engineering technology continues to improve, and the    importance of epigenetics on development and inheritance    has also become increasingly recognized.[24]  <\/p>\n<p>    New spaceflight technology and spacecraft are also    being developed, like the Orion and Dragon. New, more capable space telescopes are being designed.    The International Space Station    was completed in the 2000s, and NASA and ESA plan a manned mission to Mars in the    2030s. The Variable    Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an    electro-magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion and is    expected to be tested in 2015.  <\/p>\n<p>    2004 saw the first manned commercial    spaceflight when Mike Melvill crossed the boundary of space on June 21, 2004.  <\/p>\n<p><!-- Auto Generated --><\/p>\n<p>Originally posted here: <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_technology\" title=\"History of technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\">History of technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques and is similar to other sides of the history of humanity. Technology can refer to methods ranging from as simple as language and stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and information technology that has emerged since the 1980s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/technology\/history-of-technology-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187726],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-173500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}