Engineering and Modern Technology

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Engineering and Modern Technology

• Amanda Duncan
• 4/18/09

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Why so much attention to technology?
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• Technology has brought about an enormous amount
  of change in a short amount of time.
• Technology is a vehicle by which we help write
  the story of our cosmic history.
• Technology can connect us to the science behind
  the story of our universe.

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The Rise of Modern Technology

• The Scientific Revolution occurred around the
  1600/1700s.
• This time period was characterized by the rise of
  empiricism, the development of a mechanical
  philosophy, and the increasing role of
  mathematics.
• Examples of discoveries
• Matter is atomistic and made of chemicals, rather
  than continuous and made up of the elements like
  Earth, Water, Air, and Fire.
• The Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the
  solar system.
• All bodies move according to the same physical
  laws.

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Top Technological Developments of the 20th
Century

• 1. Electrification
• 2. Automobile
• 3. Airplane
• 4. Water supply and Distribution
• 5. Electronics
• 6. Radio and Television
• 7. Mechanised agriculture
• 8. Computers
• 9. Telephone
• 10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
• 11. Highways

• 12. Spacecraft
• 13. Internet
• 14. Imaging
• 15. Household appliances
• 16. Health Technologies
• 17. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
• 18. Laser and Fiber Optics
• 19. Nuclear technologies
• 20. Materials science
• 21. Petroleum technologies

list based on vote by the Academy of Engineering
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In 1954...
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Moores Law (1965)

• Approximately every 2 years, the number of
  transistors on a chip doubles.

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Adoption of Technology

• Length of time for 30 of US homes to adopt a new
  technology
• Telephone 38 years
• TV 17 years
• Internet 7 years

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Different viewpoints of the evolution of
technology

• Information
• Energy
• Capabilities

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Different viewpoints of the evolution of
technology

• Information
• Energy
• Capabilities

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Collective Learning

• Engineering is driven by (and in turn enables)
  the accumulation of knowledge.
• Rather than relying only on the information in
  our genes or information that we can directly
  acquire in our lifetimes, we can utilize the
  collective learning of many people, across
  thousands of generations.
• In addition to theoretical knowledge, collective
  learning is embodied in the products and
  infrastructure that we share.

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Inventing the Wheel

• Homo sapiens first appeared 250,000 BP.
• The wheel was invented 6,000 BP.
• This occurred after humans had learned to
• Control fire
• Extract metals
• Cultivate plants
• Breed animals
• We dont want to reinvent
  the wheel! ?

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Acceleration of the Creation of New Information

• In 2002, about 5 EB (exabytes) of new information
  was produced in print, film, magnetic, and
  optical storage media.
• To put this in perspective, 5 EB is
  approximately equivalent to the information
  contained in 37,000 libraries the size of the
  Library of Congress book collections (which
  contains 17 million books).
• In the same year, information flows through
  electronic channels (Internet, radio/TV,
  telephone) contained almost 18 EB of new
  information.

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Different viewpoints of the evolution of
technology

• Information
• Energy
• Capabilities

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Harnessing energy

• Engineering has helped us extract useful energy
  in more and more efficient ways.
• Human muscles
• Domesticated animals
• Agriculture
• Coal, oil, gas
• Nuclear energy
• Technology depends on a flow of energy.

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Energy Flow and Complexity
D. Christian, Maps of Time, p. 81
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Energy Flow and Complexity (Cont.)
E. Chaisson, Cosmic Evolution, p. 205
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Energy Consumption
D. Christian, Maps of Time, p. 141
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Different viewpoints of the evolution of
technology

• Information
• Energy
• Capabilities

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Technology Another form of evolution

• Our cosmic history has been characterized by the
  creation of new structures of increasing
  complexity.
• Consciousness provides a new mechanism for
  creation within the universe.
• Technology is an expression of that creative
  force that we use to overcome our physical
  limitations and to meet our needs and wants.

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Overcoming Our Physical Limitations

• We have not undergone significant biological
  evolution in the last 250,000 years.
• Yet our capabilities have increased dramatically,
  through the use of technology.

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Example Vision

• eyeglasses
• telescopes
• microscopes
• devices to detect non-visible light

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Human Imagination

• One of the most amazing and powerful properties
  of human mind is the capacity to imagine that the
  universe could be different than it currently is.
• Perhaps even more amazing, we find that it often
  is possible to change things to be closer to what
  we want, but only by working within fundamental
  physical constraints and limitations.
• This process is called engineering.

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Going to the Moon

• We looked at the moon and imagined being on it.
• Outrageous as that thought first seemed, we found
  that there was a way to do it, not by just
  imagining it to be so, but by utilizing science
  and technology to
• Build a rocket
• Develop the rocket fuel
• Calculate the trajectory of the rocket
• Design a spacesuit
• Etc.

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Top Technological Developments of the 20th
Century

• 1. Electrification
• 2. Automobile
• 3. Airplane
• 4. Water supply and Distribution
• 5. Electronics
• 6. Radio and Television
• 7. Mechanised agriculture
• 8. Computers
• 9. Telephone
• 10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
• 11. Highways

• 12. Spacecraft
• 13. Internet
• 14. Imaging
• 15. Household appliances
• 16. Health Technologies
• 17. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
• 18. Laser and Fiber Optics
• 19. Nuclear technologies
• 20. Materials science
• 21. Petroleum technologies

list based on vote by the Academy of Engineering
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Technology as a Window...

• Most peoples greatest exposure to what weve
  learned about the universe from science is
  through technology.
• The success of technology demonstrates that
  science describes the real, everyday world that
  we live in. Science is not just an abstract
  field of study.
• There are no (scientific) agnostics at 20,000
  feet.
  Jack Semura, PSU
• Technology is an excellent tool to teach and
  remind people about science and the properties of
  the universe that it describes.

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Connecting to Our Cosmic History

• Each technological tool can be used to tie us to
  our broader cosmic history by
• Tracing the origin of the energy it uses
• Tracing the history of the material from which
  its made
• Summarizing the physical laws on which its based
  and considering that those are the same laws
  which shaped the universe into what it is today
• Considering why we created the tool and the role
  it plays in the future of our cosmic story

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Summary

• The history of technology is a story of rapidly
  increasing information, energy flow, and
  capabilities.
• Technology is an expression of a new creative
  force in the universe that arises from
  consciousness.
• Technology can be an excellent vehicle to teach
  and remind us of the properties of the universe
  in which we live.

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Everythings Amazing...
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vLoGYx35ypus
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References

• Chaisson, E., Cosmic Evolution The Rise of
  Complexity in Nature, 2001, Harvard Univ. Press,
  Cambridge, MA.
• Christian, D., Maps of Time An Introduction to
  Big History, 2004, Univ. of California Press,
  Berkley and Los Angeles, CA.
• Duncan, T., An Ordinary World The Role of
  Science in Your Search for Personal Meaning,
  2009, The Science Integration Institute,
  Beaverton, OR.