The History of Technology

Key Names

Bell
Edison
Gutenberg
Tesla
Wright Brothers

Introduction

When you compare Homo sapiens (humans) with some of the species we share the planet with, you would find we are not particularly fast or strong and our senses are less acute.  Naked, we are virtually defenseless and totally ill-equipped to survive the climate of most environments.  Yet, our species has found a way to dominate the entire planet.  Our intelligence gave us a great advantage to survive and prosper.   In essence, we were able to “outsmart” our competition as we learned to organize, communicate, and manipulate our environment.   We learned to use energy and tools to provide defenses, clothe ourselves, acquire food, move great distances, and provide comfort.  In this section we will investigate how our exploitation of energy and tools (technology) led us to the top.

Early Tools

Technology is the use of energy and tools to manipulate the environment.

• Sea gulls drop rocks on mollusks to crack open the shell, seals hammer rocks against crabs to earn a meal.
• Dolphins use marine sponges for foraging.
• Gorillas use sticks to test water depth and branches as makeshift bridges.
• Chimpanzees use sticks to extract tasty termites from the interior of rotting logs.
• Beavers build dams to provide wetlands.

Although humans are not the only species on this planet that can think, use tools, and manipulate the environment to their liking, we certainly are the most proficient.  It also gives our species a great burden to use these tools wisely so we preserve balance in our environment - something we have not done very well (in my opinion).  Following is a list of early tools we associate with the Stone Age. 

The Stone Age -  (over 6000 years ago and beyond)

• Simple Tools (stone & wood)
  • flint (for making fires)
  • bow and arrow (with stone tips) and spears
  • stone ax attached to a wooden handle
  • bones, horns, tusks for weapons, jewelry, needles, and fish hooks
  • pottery
  • simple (dugout) canoes
  • rope and fish netting

   

• Fire

  "Fire is good. Fire is good, yes, fire is our friend"  ... from Young Frankenstein (one of my favorite flicks ... want to waste 4.42 minutes of your life?  Click link 1.6.a)

  One of the first tools man has used is fire.  This tool predates any recordings ... the earliest of which are drawings on cave walls.  Man is always found with fire as his companion.  Even Neanderthals used fire.  The first use must have been initiated by nature (lightning), ... but later, man found ways to start fire using tools (flint, friction, etc.).  Remember Tom Hanks' character in the movie Cast Away?  "I have made fire!" Click link 1.6.b
   

  Uses of Fire

  • Heat - The need for heat promoted a communal society because a fire requires care to maintain and control ... and resources to implement.  The phrase "can I borrow a light" comes from the time when neighbors would share fire when one went out.  We still all use fire to heat our homes ... some fuels are natural gas, oil, wood ... but even electricity initially comes from fire. We will cover the process of generating electricity later in this class.
     
  • Illumination - Most of us use electricity to light our way ... but as stated above, electricity initially comes from fire.  A century ago, lighting came from candles and oil lamps.  Before that, a central fire (primarily for heating) also provided light.
     
  • Cooking - From cooking meat to baking bread, fire was the "oven" in early homes.  Even today many homes have gas stoves.  We can also include hot water in this category since many foods require boiling water to prepare.  Hot water is also used in bathing.
     
  • Aid in Agriculture - Fire is used as a land management tool ranging from:
    • fire hazard prevention - controlled burns to reduce "fuel" build-up
    • site preparation for new crops
    • disease control
    • quick return of nutrients to the soil
    • alter species populations - manage land for elimination of wildlife or maintain land for domestic animals
       
  • Generating Power - All modern fossil fuel power plants use the pressure of steam to generate electricity (using a turbine).  Although some plants use nuclear reactions, most burn fossil fuels to vaporize water.  The early steam engine initiated the mass colonization of remote territories.  Today, we still use the power of fire to drive our automobiles using diesel or gasoline fueled engines.
     
  • Forging metals ... making pottery and other things - Early man used tools of wood and stone.  Harnessing the power of fire, man learned to use metals to forge jewelry, weapons, tools, etc.  Fire was also essential in the making of pottery (in a kiln).  Today most textiles (plastics, polymers, etc.) require intense heat in their manufacturing.
     
  • Fire as a Weapon - Not only can you forge metal weapons with fire, you can burn out your enemies with fire - a very effective weapon in early days (and today). With the invention of gunpowder and dynamite, the killing power of fire escalated.
     
  • Communications - From simple smoke signals to the waving of a torch ... fire could convey messages across great distances in a very short time.  Light travels at 186,000 miles/sec and we still use this "idea" in our modern communications.   Ships at sea could "flash" signals to other ships using Morse code.  Today we are able to imprint a "code" on a beam of light (or other type of electromagnetic wave) to transmit our messages.  Much more on this later.
     

  What is fire?

  Fire is simply a chemical reaction we call burning or combustion.  In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier, a French chemist, showed that burning is the result of the rapid union of oxygen and other substances in a process called oxidation.  It occurs all the time in nature at a much slower rate - in the mitochondria of your cells, for example.  But in this case no light is produced.

  Fire requires the combination of three factors - a fuel, a temperature high enough to sustain the reaction, and oxygen (which makes up 21% of our air).  The classic fuels we use are known as "fossil fuels".  They are coal, oil and natural gas.  They are produced over millions of years from the organic remains of ancient fern trees (coal), and marine organisms (oil & natural gas).  Wood is also a common fuel and was once the major fuel used.

  In most cases, the chemical reaction involves carbon and hydrogen in the fuel with the oxygen in the air.  For example, methane combines with oxygen in the air to make carbon dioxide and water vapor.

  CH₄ + 2 O₂   --->  CO₂ + 2 H₂O + energy

  The burning of isopropyl alcohol looks like this:

  2 C₃H₇OH + 9 O₂  ---> 6 CO₂ + 8 H₂O + energy

  In most cases, the by-products of burning fossil fuels are carbon dioxide (an important greenhouse gas) and water.

  During combustion, weaker molecular bonds are broken (in the hydrocarbons) and stronger molecular bonds are formed (in the products).  This represents a net loss in chemical potential energy which shows up as heat and light.  You need to initiate the combustion reaction with a match or igniter spark but once it gets started, the heat released is enough to sustain the combustion until all the fuel is consumed.

   

• The Domestication of Animals

Early nomads would follow the migration patterns of wild animals (elk, goats, deer, etc.) and live off them.  Tribes were hunters.  Eventually, they would gather herds of other animals (sheep, cattle, etc.) which did not follow these migration patterns.  Then it became man's job to lead the herds to new pastures.  Tribes were herders ... living off the animals they lead around.  When man learned to use animals (such as pack mules) as "beasts of burden", it made travel much easier. This "tool" would free man to explore new lands.  It also led to great advances in warfare, because a peasant on the ground was no match for a nomad mounted on horseback.  The nomad armies of Genghis Kahn (1200's AD) were the most feared of their time.

Early man invented agriculture over 10,000 years ago ... just as the last ice age retreated!  At first, farming involved the harvesting of wild wheat so man remained on the go.  But when the planting of seeds became necessary (because a better strain of wheat would not cast seeds in the wind over great distances) ... man had to stay put in one location and plant his food.  This required oxen (and later horses) to work the plows.  Man became farmers and lived in communities ... a major change in lifestyle.

• The Wheel

Today we use the wheel without thought.  It is found just about everywhere, but it actually had to be invented and improved through the centuries.  The oldest wheel found in archeological excavations was discovered in what was Mesopotamia (Middle East ... that is, modern day Iraq) and dates back to about 3500 to 3000 BC.  In fact, some civilizations, like the Anasazi (Southwest US), never even invented the wheel at all.

If interested, read link 1.6.d, an article about the invention and evolution of the wheel.

Uses of the wheel:

• transportation of objects
• millstones were huge stone wheels used to grind wheat into flour
• the "wheel and axle" would help draw water from wells
• generating power (water wheel)
• transfer energy and reduce friction (gears, pulleys, bearings)
• potter's wheel

The Age of Metals -

• Use of Metals

If interested, click link 1.6.f for a short history of metals.   

There were only 7 metals known to ancient man.  They were:  

Note: 90% Copper +  10% Tin = Bronze (much harder than copper alone)

Gold and silver were too soft to use as weapons or tools ... mostly for jewelry and display of wealth.

Lead was used mainly as a container and to form pipes (used in the Roman Empire) and may have "lead" to their demise due to lead poisoning.

Most civilizations passed through three phases - the Age of Copper, the Age of Bronze, and the Age of Iron (although some people, like the sub-Saharans (Africa) ..., passed directly from stone to the use of iron,  ... but in most of the countries the three metals came into use in this sequence).

Below are the melting points of some common metals.  The good news is the maximum temperature of a coal fired forge is about 1,927°C ... which is more than enough to get you started.
 

Metal	Melting Point in °C
Brass	930
Copper	1084
Gold	1063
Iron	1536
Lead	327
Stainless Steel	1510

Metallurgy is the study of metals and metal working.  As the craft of metallurgy advanced, people found ways of making stronger metals by improving forging techniques and by mixing metals to form alloys.  For example, steel is iron enriched with carbon and brass is a mixture of copper and zinc.

With stronger metals, weapons became more deadly, tools became more efficient, and more ideas could be realized.

The Plow changed everything

At about the same time people learned to use metals, they found a way to efficiently feed themselves.  They invented agriculture! ... a way to grow food rather than hunt and gather.  This was a major step in the history of mankind because it freed up time to develop other great advances such as writing and reading.  And it all started with the invention of the plow ... a simple wedge to overturn the ground.  The earliest plows were made of wood ... so only the best soil could be worked.  This meant that only choice locations (such as the Nile River) could be colonized.  But with the invention of the metal plow, remote regions could be inhabited.  In addition, the use of animals (at first oxen and later horses), provided the power to work the soil.  With the power of water (water wheel), flour could be mass produced, used for other foods and can be traded for other goods.  To move these goods to remote locations, man harnessed the power of the wind to sail to all corners of the known world.  Although no single individual can claim these advances, it is a true testament to our species' inventiveness.

Other milestones in technology (according to Life Magazine)

To celebrate the Y2K event, Life Magazine covered 100 milestone events in the history of mankind.  Not all of their events were related to technology, but I’ve listed the ones that certainly are (in chronological order).

• Gunpowder is invented in the 9th century
• The compass is used at sea in 1117
• Gutenberg prints the Bible in 1455
• Flushing Toilets in 1596
• First regularly printed newspaper  in 1609
• First pendulum clock revolutionizes timekeeping in 1656
• Microscopes see a smaller world in 1674
• The steam engine kicks off the industrial revolution in 1769
• Food becomes preserved in 1812
• Photography is born in 1826
• Water purification starts in 1829
• The Iron Horse (Steam Train) 1830
• Refrigeration keeps it cool in 1834
• Vulcanization of rubber in 1839
• The telegraph makes the world a smaller place in 1844
• Anesthesia eases the pain in 1846
• Singer made a sewing machine in 1851
• Tempering of steel in 1854
• First safe elevator in 1854
• The "Oil Revolution" begins in 1859
• Invention of dynamite in 1867
• Thomas Alva Edison starts inventing at Menlo Park in 1876
• Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone in 1876
• Moving pictures 1895
• Discovery of X-rays in 1895
• Marconi invents the radio in 1901
• Orville and Wilbur Wright fly at Kitty Hawk in 1903
• Invention of plastics in 1907
• Henry Ford and the Model T in 1908
• TV invades our lives 1928
• Penicillin starts a medical revolution 1928
• Transistors revolutionize electronics 1947

Other Great Inventions/ Inventors

Life Magazine did an excellent job listing some major advances in technology.  Is the list complete?  Hardly!  The biggest omission, in my opinion, was the accomplishments of Nikola Tesla (see link 1.6.g).   Tesla and Edison both realized that household electricity would greatly improve the standard of living.  They disagreed on how that would be accomplished.   Edison favored DC (direct current) and Tesla touted the virtues of AC (alternating current).  In 1888, Tesla demonstrated a working AC motor.  In 1896, an AC power station first harnessed the power of Niagara Falls to light up Buffalo, NY. 

Discovery by Accident

Sometimes good fortune simply falls in your lap.  In 1963 two engineers working for Bell Labs- Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were perplexed as they were trying to eliminate some unwanted "static" from their microwave antenna.  They accidentally discovered the cosmic background radiation which advanced the idea that the universe started with a "Big Bang".  For this, they won the Noble Prize. The term "serendipity" is often used to describe these lucky advances.  With a little effort, you can discover that many significant advancements (and some silly ones) came about as a result of an accident.

Ancient Inventions

You would be absolutely amazed to learn how many of the great technological inventions we enjoy today were actually first invented long, long ago.  For example, you may have been led to believe that the first computer was invented in modern times ... wrong!  The ancient Greeks had one - known as the Antikythera Mechanism (see link 1.6.h).

The Antikythera Computer (Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

This device was actually an astronomical computer of elaborate design.  One could enter the current position of the sun, moon and planets and then advance it in time to predict the arrangement of the sky for some future date.  It did this with a complex system of gears.  This device is over 2000 years old and may have been constructed by Archimedes himself.  There are many other examples of items that have been around for a very long time. 

©2001, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2016 by Jim Mihal - All rights reserved
No portion may be distributed without the expressed written permission of the author