History of Science & Technology

History of Science & Technology

• Social considerations have shaped the trajectory of both science and technology

Learning Outcomes

• Key areas of focus include the interactions between S&T and society throughout history
• Focus on how scientific and technological developments impact society and the environment
• Address paradigm shifts in history

Prehistoric Period

• It is the longest period in history, but the least known due to a lack of historical evidence
• Deductions made from archaeological findings form the basis of chronological events
• Anything before written accounts is considered prehistoric

First Civilizations

• Mesopotamia (Tigris-Euphrates Valley), Egypt (Nile Valley), China (Huang Ho Valley), and India (Indus Valley) saw the rise of the earliest civilizations
• Early civilizations developed science and technology to meet their basic survival needs
• Early humans used stone tools marking the Stone Age along with the later Metal Age

Stone Age

• It is a prehistoric period (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic) characterized by the use of stone for hunting implements
• It began around 6000 BC and ended around 2000 BC

Paleolithic Age

• It consisted of hunter-gatherer civilizations utilizing primitive stone tools
• Homo erectus controlled fire, generating it through percussion for warmth and cooking
• There is evidence of clothing, painting, sculptures, and carvings/engravings from this time

Mesolithic Age

• This was a transitional period that gave way to shifting-farming civilizations
• Small stone tools made of flint (microliths) were used as spearheads and arrowheads
• Construction evidence, such as Stonehenge in England has been found

Neolithic Age

• It was the first agricultural revolution, paving the way for agricultural-mining civilizations
• Evidences of complex numeric counting were developed
• Development of metallurgy and metalworking allowed extracting and modifying mineral ores
• The wheel was invented, primarily for pottery

Metal Age

• Copper and tin were used to produce implements such as weapons and utensils, characterizing the Bronze Age
• The wheel was applied in transportation
• Iron and steel were used and modified in religious practices, agriculture, art, and weaponry, marking the Iron Age

Ancient period

• It marked the rise of the world's great civilizations where science and technology pursued survival needs and satisfied curiosity
• Knowledge became accessible through writing and record keeping

Sumerian Civilization

• The world's first writing system, cuneiform, consisted of word pictures depicted in triangular marks
• A base-60 (sexagesimal) system standardized measurement, where 60 minutes are 60 seconds

Egyptian Civilization

• The early version of paper was developed from papyrus
• Hieroglyphics were pictorial symbols used as its writing system
• During the Golden Age of Egypt, the Pyramids of Giza were built

Roman Civilization

• Emperor Hadrian designed the Pantheon
• For gladiatorial contests, the Colosseum was built during Vespasian's reign
• The public urinal system was implemented by Vespasian, named vespasiano.

Arabic/Islamic Civilization

• They prospered by exploiting their strategic location
• Muhammad founded Islam at the Holy City of Mecca
• They were the first to use glass lenses for magnification

Chinese Civilization

• Acupuncture was used as a treatment for illnesses
• The earthquake weathercock was invented by royal astronomer Chang Heng (modern seismograph)
• Paper making was invented by Cai Lun

Babylonian Civilization

• Babylonia, an ancient region bordering the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was a center for commerce and religion
• Nebuchadnezzar II ruled when the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built

Minoan Civilization

• Knossos was its capital situated on Crete Island
• The Minoan's writing system was Linear A

Greek Civilization

• It served as the foundation of cultural and philosophical development
• Thales of Miletus is the Father of Philosophy, stating nature is composed of or convertible to water
• Anaxagoras argued matter consists of tiny particles
• Empedocles deemed nature as a mixture of earth, fire, air, and water
• Hippocrates is credited as the Father of Greek Medicine, regarding medicine as a science
• Galen made the first steps to advance anatomy, as a Greek physician
• Aristotle pioneered and discovered information on animals, plants, variety and structure and is seen as the "Father of many sciences"
• Archimedes discovered levers and pulleys through experiments leading to inventing machines thereof

Medieval Era

• This era is the period between ancient and modern times
• Byzantium's Christian empire, the Arabs’ Islamic empire, China’s T’ang dynasty, Japan’s Nara culture, and Central America’s Mayan civilization rose
• The Catholic church unified Europe
• The printing press was invented in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg
• It was the first printing press with movable metal type
• The Gutenberg Bible was the oldest mechanically printed book

Renaissance Era

• This era in Western Europe was a period of rebirth
• Book publication and printing technology were impactful
• Early renaissance was defined with the publication of two revolutionary books.
• Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, published "On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres"
• Proposed a heliocentric universe contradicting Ptolemy's geocentric model
• The Catholic Church rejected the heliocentric theory
• Andreas Vesalius, recognized as the founder of modern medicine, published "On the Fabric of the Human Body"
• Vesalius laid out accurate descriptions of human anatomy
• Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian artist and inventor, anticipated inventions such as helicopters, submarines, and machine guns
• Galileo Galilei supporting the heliocentric system, experimented on gravity, improved the telescope, and discovered celestial bodies

Scientific Revolution (17th Century)

• Superseding reason over religion led to the expansion of scientific knowledge
• Galileo's defense of the Copernican Theory catalyzed the Scientific Revolution
• Francis Bacon promoted observation and experimentation in science
• Tycho Brahe studied geometric calculations and celestial observations
• Johannes Kepler discovered planets' elliptical orbits from Brahe's work, challenging circular orbits
• John Napier discovered logarithms to simplify complex calculations
• René Descartes used reason against Aristotle and Ptolemy and created analytical geometry
• Isaac Newton developed theories on astronomy and physics and invented calculus
• Gottfried von Leibniz invented calculus alongside Newton
• Christiaan Huygens used pendulum in clocks for time control
• Hans Lippershey improved telescopes
• Jan Swammerdam invented the microscope and discovered red blood corpuscles
• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope and discovered animalcules
• William Harvey published diagrams of the human circulatory system
• Robert Hooke discovered and named cells looking at thin layers of cork

18th Century - Industrial Revolution

• Reliance on physical labor shifted to machine-based production
• James Watt invented the first satisfactory condensing steam engine
• Benjamin Franklin experimented on electricity
• Luigi Galvani pioneered bioelectromagnetics using different metals with muscle
• Alessandro Volta invented the electric battery a
• Michael Faraday did experiments on electromagnetism and invented the first dynamo
• Hans Oersted confirmed and expanded Faraday's works eventually inventing the electric motor
• Andre Ampere's explanation of magnetic effects led to the invention of the electric motor
• Samuel Morse practically produced the first telegraph using electromagnets and developed Morse Code
• Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and carried out telephone conversations
• Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture equipment
• Heinrich Hertz produced electromagnetic waves and transmitting them to receive radio waves
• Guglielmo Marconi adapted Hertz’s study and created a system of radiotelegraphy
• George Stephenson developed the first steam-powered locomotive

19th Century

• Modern industry rose
• Age of machine tools

19th Century Innovators

• Atomic theory: John Dalton
• Pasteurization: Louis Pasteur
• Periodic Table: Dmitri Mendeleev
• Ophthalmoscope: Hermann von Helmholtz
• Radioactivity: Henri Becquerel
• Discovery of Radium: Marie & Pierre Curie
• Discovery of the electron: Joseph Thomson
• First automobile - Karl Benz
• First diesel engine: Rudolf Diesel

20th Century

• Rapid scientific and technological advancements
• Extensive use of the scientific method and research funding
• The Space Race between the USA and Soviet Union

20th Century - Astronomy

• Origin and evolution of the universe - Big Bang and Steady State Theory
• Space probes observed planets and moons
• Sputnik 1, the first orbiting space probe was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957
• Yuri Gagarin was the first man in outer space
• Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the moon in Apollo 11 mission

Biology

• The structure of DNA - Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, James Watson, and Francis Crick
• The first vaccine developed for Polio - Jonas Salk
• The Spanish Flu killed approximately 20–100 million people from 1918 – 1919
• HIV a viral disease that arose in Africa

Engineering and Production

• Availability of electricity increased the use of home appliances
• Washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, electric stoves and vacuum cleaners became popular
• Materials such as stainless steel, Velcro, silicone, Teflon, polyethylene, nylon and PVC became widespread

Physics and Chemistry

• Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity -Wolfgang Pauli and the Pauli Exclusion Principle
• Werner Heisenberg created Quantum mechanics and published the uncertainty principle
• Gilbert Lewis suggested a chemical bond is a pair of electrons shared by two atoms

Technology

• Computers were developed and improved from the classical abacus
• Intel developed a microprocessor making computers user friendly
• Bill Gates Founded Microsoft
• Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak introduced Apple in 1976
• Internet was created for defense-related research known as ARPANet
• Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web
• Henry Ford Devised the system of mass production
• Artificial Intelligence was invented that gave computers the capacity to perform human-like intellectual processes