Historical Development of Science and Technology PDF

LECTURE 1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY I. Introduction What are Science, Technology, and society, and why should people study and learn from it? Why should learners, teachers, researchers, and other professionals have an indulgence in the subject? Primarily, we need...

LECTURE 1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY I. Introduction What are Science, Technology, and society, and why should people study and learn from it? Why should learners, teachers, researchers, and other professionals have an indulgence in the subject? Primarily, we need some background and understanding of science and technology in the living past and their importance in the modern world (Mosteiro, 2004). NATURE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY SCIENCE from the Latin word Scientia which means knowledge. It is a systematic, organized knowledge that investigates nature. It is also a process of diverse events shaped by social forces and historical change, thus shaping culture. TECHNOLOGY From the word Techne (art, craft, skill), Logos (word). It means a system of skills, techniques, processes, and products of the scientific concept. Simply, it is the scientific study of the practical or industrial arts. It is a complex combination of knowledge, materials, and methods with the organization and manipulation of materials for humanity's useful purposes. It is a process of inventing new or better tools and materials for a better way of living, resulting in a total societal enterprise. SOCIETY It is an ethnic or racial network, based on gender, or due to shared beliefs, values, and activities. Sociology defines it as people who interact to share a common culture. In geography, it refers to people who share a common culture in a particular location. For example, people living in arctic climates developed different cultures from those living in desert cultures. In time, a large variety of human cultures arose around the world. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN DIFFERENT PERIODS How civilization has changed over the centuries displays the understanding of humankind in the natural world (science) and the ability to control (technology) and influence it (society). Ancient Times Accumulation and transfer of knowledge evolved from the ancient to modern humans. The ability to make weapons from simple to modern ones became efficient. Hunters became farmers and fishers. Clothing became a necessity from nakedness. hence, different elements combined to reach the level of sophistication of our civilization. Sumerian Civilization Sumerian civilization emerged in 3,500 BC in the southern region of Mesopotamia (corresponding to modern-day Iraq and Kuwait). It is generally considered the cradle of civilization. They rely on agriculture as the primary source of livelihood. They created the irrigation systems by constructing dikes and canals to control flooding. They built large structures from sun-dried bricks made of clay. Invented the wheel, sail, and plow, improving trade and farming. They forged bronze from copper and tin (around 3,000 BC), allowing for more robust tools and weapons. They developed the first formal writing system called cuneiform. Introduced a 360-day calendar The basis for sixty minutes to an hour time duration came from the sexagesimal number system and was used to measure the circumference of a circle with 360 degrees. Babylonian Civilization ( About 3,500 BC until 500 BC) Positioned on the border of the famous Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Iraq. They used a calendar with alternating 29 and 30-day months. This system required an extra month three times every eight years. As a further adjustment, the King would periodically order an additional extra month into the calendar. Likewise, they dug canals and developed earthen dikes to irrigate their crops and provide water to their livestock. They adopted the Sumerian sexagesimal system. They showed a remarkable talent in Astronomy and believed that the movement of the heavenly bodies forecasted some terrestrial events like eclipses. They kept complete lists of eclipses Babylonian astronomers compiled lists of planets and stars.. Egyptian Civilization Historians noted that ancient Egypt began between 5,000 and 3,100 BC, geographically situated in Africa's Northeastern part. The Nile River provided Egypt with the necessary water requirements to support agricultural activities. They produced a variety of earthenware and pottery items. They worked on metals to produce tools, weapons, and agricultural implements. They constructed dwellings made of reeds and air-dried mud bricks. Built great pyramids Ancient Egyptians devised a 365-day calendar. Hieroglyphics is an Ancient form of writing created by the Egyptians. The use of symbols became part of reading to understand letters. the ancient artifact that helps decode and understand these meanings is the Rosetta Stone. Greek Civilization Greek civilization emerged at around 1,100 BC. Had a stronger connection with philosophy, and replaced the supernatural beliefs through the concept of a universe governed by natural laws. Scientific works of wise and gifted Greeks such as Thales, Socrates, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Archimedes, and Ptolemy served as foundations and pillars of Western civilization. Pythagoras also studied geometry and discovered the Pythagorean Theorem Euclid wrote the book entitled Elements which is about geometry Aristotle wrote the History of Animals and listed all his observations about animals in this book. Hippocrates who is the "Father of Western Medicine " also introduced cartography. Here are some of the inventions credited to the Ancient Greeks. a. Watermill - Powered by water used to grind with a waterwheel and toothed gear to capacitate the grind. b. Alarm Clock - Plato used a water clock to trigger a sound at a specific time which became the start of how alarm clocks are used. c. Central Heating - The Greeks invented a type of central heating to transfer hot air from fires to empty spaces under the temple's floors. d. Crane - The Greeks invented the crane to help lift heavy items such as blocks for constructing buildings. e. Archimedes' Screw - Invented by Archimedes, the Archimedes' screw was an efficient way to move water up a hill. Roman Civilization Spanned from 102 – 44 B.C. It established a sophisticated system to circulate written news published on Acta diurnal, which translates to "Daily events," and published the Acta Senatus that recorded the proceedings in the Roman senate.  They were incredibly skillful in building infrastructures with good integrity and built. The Romans developed infrastructure networks and constructed roads from Rome to other places in Italy. They have constructed immense permanent structures such as domes, theaters, and stadiums. Indian Civilization (1500 and 1000 BCE) Adequate knowledge of geometry developed in India due to strict religious rules for the construction of altars. The Shula Sutras is a work that explains how to perform all the geometrical operations to support the religious procedures regarding altars. The concept of square roots and squaring the circle is also rooted in this book. Developed the numbers and decimal notation that the world uses today, thus the most influential Hindu science achievement. Chinese Civilization Displayed an exceptional talent in making inventions like Gunpowder, paper, woodblock printing, and the compass (known as the "south-pointing needle") The creation of the plow and the development of the lunar calendar in China. Chinese doctors started the use of acupuncture. Astronomers were able to record solar eclipses. They used bamboo strips or paper made from bark to write on. They developed the technology of papermaking and the invention of the printing press. They invented an "earthquake weather clock" or what is now known as the seismograph. Medieval Era It began just before 500 A.D and is often called The Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. Due to a significant loss of power throughout Europe by the Roman Emperor. The Middle Ages dated roughly 1,000 years, ending around 1450 A.D. This era founded today's modern European countries involved great political turmoil and violence and considered human growth and development. Life in The Middle Ages People formed small communities with their Lord or Master. It consists of the Castle, the Church, the Village, and the surrounding farmland. Most lived in the Manors, which were isolated, and with only occasional visits from merchants or pilgrims. Feudalism is a form of government King - (awarded land grants to his most essential nobles) Barons and Bishops - (provide soldiers for the King's armies) Lords/Earls/Marquis/Viscount - (act as local justice and held court for local matters provide land) Vassals or tenants - (serve as guard duty, and later they paid a fee to acquire mercenaries (soldiers-for-hire) Peasants/serfs/villeins - (lowest class of society, provides the Lord with labor, share the products yielded from his land in exchange for protection, land to work, and a place to live) Every village had a Lord, and people were almost entirely farmers. After the 1100s, castles often dominated village landscapes, and some towns continued to exist for centuries. The Village People Peasants The poorest people in the medieval era lived in cottages using wood, reeds, twigs, mud, and straw. They could be educated and married if they could afford it. Serfs The peasant class is the poorest and treated as slaves. Serfs serve the Lords to have a place to live. They could do neither and were not permitted to relocate without the Lord's approval. Farmers They were better off than peasants, owned their farms, and also lived in cottages. Carpenters highly skilled (knowledge of math, woodworking, and tools) and were elite tradesmen. One had to gain the skills to join a guild as an apprentice and learn the craft to become a carpenter. Kings and nobles employed them as specialists. A master carpenter was always in demand to build decoratively furnished castles and estates and earn high wages. Metalsmiths sometimes called blacksmith ('smith' who worked in the "black" metal, namely iron) The "white" metals used were tin, silver, or gold. The Medieval Blacksmith made a wide variety of items and objects which included: - Medieval Weapons, including swords, daggers, lances, arrowheads, etc. - Siege Weapons - Medieval Armor and shields - Tools - Nails - Church and Castle Doors - hinges, locks, and keys - Instruments of torture and chains - Ornaments, Jewelry & Decorative Objects The technology used in everyday Medieval life The Medieval period involved significant technological advancement. Below is a list of some inventions from the Middle Ages. 1. Mechanical Artillery/Weaponry Counterweight trebuchet (12th). use of counterweights allowing to throw large stones to very long distances. Missile weapons. Longbow with massed, disciplined archery (13th) Steel crossbow (14th, late) 2. Agriculture The heavy plow (5th - 8th) is used to cultivate rich, fatty, often wet North Europe soils. It first appeared in Slavic lands before it came to Northern Italy (the Po Valley). Horse collar (6th - 9th) - It went through multiple evolutions from the 6th to 9th centuries and pulled heavy plows. Horseshoes (9th) - As early as 50 BC, Romans and Celts were known to use these for horses to adapt to rocky terrain, and mountains and carry heavier loads. 3. Architecture and construction Artesian well (1126) - It was coined for Artois in France, where Carthusian monks drilled the first in 1126. Wheelbarrow (the 1170s) –It is for construction, mining, and farming, and its first illustration is in the 13th Century, although it appeared in stories and pictures between 1170 and 1250 in North-western Europe. 4. Clocks Hourglass (1338), documented in Siena, Italy; is a dependable, affordable, and accurate time measurement. 5. Vertical windmills (the 1180s) - Invented in Europe and was first mentioned In Yorkshire, England 1185; a pivotable post mill efficient at grinding grain or draining water. 6. Spectacles (the 1280s) -It developed in Florence, Italy, and made up of convex lenses to help far-sighted people. 7. Spinning wheel (13th) - probably the Hindu brought to Europe this apparatus. 8. Chess (1450) - This game spread through Persia and the Muslim world to Europe from India where it originated in the 6th century AD. 9. Mirrors (1180) – It was made in 1180 by Alexander Beckham, who said, "Take away the lead behind the glass, and there will be no image of the one looking in." 10. Oil paint (ca. 1410) - Flemish painter Jan van Eyck around 1410, introduced a stable oil mixture and is used to add details to tempera paintings. 11. Quarantine (1377) – It was introduced by the Republic of Ragusa, a 40-day-period Quarantine. Venice began quarantines, and then the practice spread around Europe. ALCHEMY: One crucial stimulus was the monarchs' growing demand for valuable elements. New pumping devices, new types of equipment for lifting heavy loads, and further finding and extracting metals were developed. Metallurgy and metalworking became famous during the 16th Century. Alchemists laid the foundation of Modern Chemistry and solved the problem of shortage of gold in laboratories. FIREARMS, ARCHITECTURE, FORTIFICATION: The creation of Gunpowder and firearms made mathematical knowledge indispensable; artillery without ballistic competence would have been inefficient. The knowledge of geometry and statics enabled the Middle Ages architects to construct such wonderworks like Gothic cathedrals. The sophisticated fortifications built in Italy, France, and England during the 15th and 16th centuries would not have been useful if their architects had not applied mathematical principles. VISUAL ARTS: Progress in visual arts made via the study of light and pigments. The new principles of perspective and portion required careful analysis of the mathematical principles upon which they were established. ANATOMY: Painters and sculptors in the 15th and 16th centuries, made deep studies of the human body. By drawing upon discoveries made by anatomists in despite of a Church law, started dissecting human cadavers to study in detail the structure of the human body and it improved the knowledge of human anatomy. EXPLORATION OF THE EARTH: Western merchants traveled as far as China from the 14th Century onwards with information on the hitherto countries in the East. Based upon new and more precise maps, the Earth's view became shattered. When Nicolaus Copernicus rejected the geocentric conception of the universe the culmination point began to spread out.  BOOK PRINTING: One of the greatest inventions in the history of humankind was seen in the 15th century. In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg a citizen of Mainz in Germany printed books with his printing press prototype, which made it possible for humanity to spread and give access to the knowledge of the world to everybody, and to accumulate and store it in libraries, the ever-growing treasure houses of human experience. THE CALENDAR: The Church rarely intervenes in the progress of technology and science. Clergyies tried to resolve problems posed by the Bible about the exact date of Easter which even science mathematics and astronomy could not answer which led to the publication of a reformed Christian calendar and chronology. The Gregorian Calendar became accepted as the established civil calendar when the reformation in the Christian calendar happened. Science in the Medieval Era Alchemy Medieval people believed that they could change or transmute metals. The Philosophers' Stone was the most sought-after goal for a long time; even Sir Isaac Newton and Nicolas Flamel sought it. It is a legendary alchemical substance, which is capable of turning metals into precious ores. Some people believed it to be an elixir of life, to achieve rejuvenation and immortality. The Philosopher's Stone was the main symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy. It symbolizes perfection, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss; thus, the philosopher's Stone's discovery is the Great Work. It has been the object of interest in artistic works in novels, comics, movies, animations, video games, and even in music from the medieval days and still today. The Prominent Minds of the Middle Ages and Their Contribution Al-Battani improved the measurement of the Earth's axis to be precise. Physicist Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), a Muslim, is considered the father of modern optics. Al-Kindi establishes the application of quantifying and mathematics in medicine and pharmacology in his work "De Gradibus." He used mathematics to measure the potency of drugs and determine in advance the most critical days of a patient's illness. Al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the algorithm's concept, while the term algebra derived from his written work Al-Jabr and recognized algebra as a distinct field of mathematics. Also, the birth of more advanced mathematics arose from replacing Roman numerals with the decimal system and the invention of algebra. Furthermore, the improvements or refinements of civilization in and before the Middle Ages, such as street lamps, window panes, fireworks, stringed instruments, cultivated fruits, perfumes, spices, and so forth, originated from the Saracens (Muslims) However, a series of events that came to be known as the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages ensued. The massive scientific change ended due to The Black Death of 1348. In Europe- the heart of the innovations, the plague occurred in crowded towns. It killed a third of Europe's people, and recurrences of the epidemic and experienced other disasters. Thus, it caused a continuing decline in population for a century. Renaissance Period (15th – 17th Century) The term renaissance refers to the rebirth period as an age of preparation for the seventeenth-century for developments and achievements in science. It was Johannes Gutenberg introduced the metal movable type printing press. The first reflecting telescope was made by Isaac Newton. The development of the musket was in Spain in the 1500s. Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer presented the heliocentric theory and said that the Earth is not the center of the solar system but the sun. Galileo Galilei improved the telescope and invented the thermometer in 1593, discovered new celestial bodies, and found support for a heliocentric solar system. Modern Times Industrial Revolution In the 18th Century The Industrial Revolution was the transformation to new machine processes which included going from manual production methods to machines, the use of the steam engine, the development of machine tools, and the factory system's rise. James Watt a Scottish inventor, began the revolution when the steam engine was refined. Robert Fulton created the steamboat using one of the engines of Watt. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. George Stephenson developed the first steam-powered locomotive. In the 19th Century The rise of modern industry was witnessed in the 19th Century. The evidence of the development of science and technology is seen in communications, transportation, and electricity. Samuel Morse the telegraph and the Morse Code. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Alexander Bain invented facsimile. Charles Wheatstone created the microphone.  The typewriter and typographer were invented by William Burt. The principles of fiber optics were demonstrated by John Tyndall. Guglielmo Marconi proved the feasibility of radio communication. Jean Lenoir invented the internal combustion engine. Count Alessandro Volta invented the battery. William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet. Michael Faraday invented the dynamo. Charles Babbage invented the mechanical calculator. John Walker invented modern matches. Hamilton-Smith patented the rotary washing machine. Nikola Tesla invented the A.C. motor and transformer. Louis Pasteur invented the process of pasteurization. Alfred Nobel invented the dynamite. Elisha Otis introduced the first safety elevator. Jesse Reno invented the escalator. In the 20th Century Technology has become more scientific and natural science has become more technological in the face of ever-growing complexity. In this context, scientific research laboratories were established to cope with the demands of the times. Willis Carrier invented the air conditioner. The Wright brothers created the first gas motored and manned the airplane. Albert Einstein wrote and published the Theory of Relativity made known for his equation E=mc2 Paul Cornu invented the very first piloted helicopter. But it was Igor Sikorsky who created the first successful helicopter. Henry Ford revolutionized automobile manufacturing. Thomas Edison demonstrated the first talking motion picture. Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. German inventors invented the electron microscope. Chester Carlson invented the photocopier. There have been many claims on who invented the television, but in 1940, Peter Goldmark invented the modern color T.V. system. Nuclear fission research began in the 1930s resulting in the development of the atomic bomb used in the Second World War. Post-war investigations by the superpowers to develop nuclear industries led to the generation of electricity for the first Russian nuclear reactor in 1951. It was in 1942 that the making of the first electronic digital computer was done. Personal computer resulted in the development of a microprocessor in 1971 that made the computer smaller, easier to use, and more affordable The invention mobile phone was in 1947, and not sold until 1983. 1989 saw the advent of the World Wide Web.  The field of artificial intelligence research was born at Dartmouth College in 1956