Portal:Technology

The Technology Portal

The wheel, invented sometime before the 4th millennium BC, is one of the most ubiquitous and important technologies. This detail of the "Standard of Ur", c. 2500 BCE., displays a Sumerian chariot

Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge for achieving practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering, and everyday life.

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistoric times, followed by the control of fire, which contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age. The invention of the wheel in the Bronze Age allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the printing press, telephone, and the Internet, have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the knowledge economy. (Full article...)

Recognized articles -

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Image 1

Sloatsburg station platform, looking north

Sloatsburg station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line, located in the village of Sloatsburg, New York at the intersection of Municipal Plaza and Mills Street.

Construction of the Sloatsburg station dates back to the 1830s, when the station was built along the Erie Railroad. The station served the line heading to Port Jervis northward, along with a stagecoach to Greenwood Lake three times a day. The station was populated by fishermen on their way to the lake, but has been the site of several accidents. These calamities include a derailed milk train in 1843 and a fatal accident between the train line and several mules and their owner in 1855. The station became part of Metro-North in 1983, when the service was created. The station was listed under a revitalization plan in 2005 to help serve its commuters. (Full article...)
Image 2
The iPad (3rd generation) (marketed as The new iPad, colloquially referred to as the iPad 3) is a tablet computer, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. The third device in the iPad line of tablets, it added a Retina Display, the new Apple A5X chip with a quad-core graphics processor, a 5-megapixel camera, HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation, and support for LTE networks in North America. It shipped with iOS 5, which also provides a platform for audio-visual media, including electronic books, periodicals, films, music, computer games, presentations and web browsing.

Six variations of the third-generation iPad were offered, compared to nine in the United States and Canada, although some countries had only the Wi-Fi only model. Each variation was available with black or white front glass panels, with options for 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage. In North America, connectivity options were Wi-Fi only, Wi-Fi + 4G (LTE) on Verizon, AT&T, Telus, Rogers, or Bell. For the rest of the world outside North America, connectivity options are Wi-Fi only (on the Wi-Fi model) or Wi-Fi + 3G (on the Wi-Fi + Cellular model), with the latter unavailable in some countries, as 4G (LTE) connectivity for the device is not available outside North America. The Wi-Fi + Cellular model includes GPS capability. (Full article...)
Image 3
King's Highway 33, commonly referred to as Highway 33 or Loyalist Parkway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route begins in Trenton, Ontario and travels south to Prince Edward County and then continues east to the Collins Bay Road junction at Collins Bay in the city of Kingston, a distance of 60.9 kilometres (37.8 mi). The highway continues farther east into Kingston as Bath Road (Kingston Road 33), ending at the former Highway 2, now Princess Street. Highway 33 is divided into two sections by the Bay of Quinte. The Glenora Ferry service crosses between the two sections just east of Picton, transporting vehicles and pedestrians for free throughout the year.

Originally, Highway 33 continued northeast through Trenton to the town of Stirling, ending at a junction with Highway 14. This section was transferred to county governments by the beginning of 1998. In 2009, Highway 33 west of Picton became the site of the first modern roundabout on a provincial highway. (Full article...)
Image 4
New York State Route 227 (NY 227) is a state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The highway extends for 9.84 miles (15.84 km) in a northeast–southwest direction from an intersection with NY 79 south of the hamlet of Reynoldsville in the town of Hector to a junction with NY 96 in the village of Trumansburg. In between, NY 227 intersects NY 228 in Perry City by the east town line of Hector and passes through the town of Ulysses. Part of NY 227 straddles the Schuyler–Tompkins county line.

When NY 227 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, it extended from just east of Watkins Glen to Perry City. The route was extended northward to Trumansburg in the early 1940s, replacing part of NY 79; however, it was replaced by NY 79 from Watkins Glen to Reynoldsville in the early 1960s. Prior to 1930, the sections of NY 227 near Reynoldsville and north of Perry City were part of Route 46, an unsigned legislative route. (Full article...)
Image 5
The Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight. (Full article...)
Image 6

Windows Server 2012, codenamed "Windows Server 8", is the sixth version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It is the server version of Windows based on Windows 8 and succeeds Windows Server 2008 R2, which is derived from the Windows 7 codebase, released nearly three years earlier. Two pre-release versions, a developer preview and a beta version, were released during development. The software was officially launched on September 4, 2012, which was the month before the release of Windows 8. It was succeeded by Windows Server 2012 R2 in 2013. Mainstream support for Windows Server 2012 ended on October 9, 2018, and extended support ended on October 10, 2023. Windows Server 2012 is eligible for the paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which offers continued security updates until October 13, 2026.

Windows Server 2012 removed support for Itanium and processors without PAE, SSE2 and NX. Four editions were released. Various features were added or improved over Windows Server 2008 R2 (with many placing an emphasis on cloud computing), such as an updated version of Hyper-V, an IP address management role, a new version of Windows Task Manager, and ReFS, a new file system. Windows Server 2012 received generally good reviews in spite of having included the same controversial Metro-based user interface seen in Windows 8, which includes the Charms Bar for quick access to settings in the desktop environment. (Full article...)
Image 7

County Route 149 (CR 149) is a 8.69-mile (13.99 km) county route in northern Sullivan County, New York, in the United States. The route runs from an intersection with New York State Route 52 (NY 52) in the Callicoon community of Youngsville to an intersection with CR 178 in the Rockland community of Livingston Manor. CR 149 was originally designated as New York State Route 284 in 1930. (Full article...)

Selected picture

Image 1
Assut de l'Or Bridge
Photograph: Diego Delso
The Assut de l'Or Bridge is a white single-pylon cable-stayed bridge in the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain. Completed in 2008, it was designed by Valencian architect and civil engineer Santiago Calatrava as a variant of his cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge in Seville.
Image 2
Escalator
Credit: Stig Nygaard
An escalator is a moving staircase for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.
Image 3
Empire State Building
Image credit: Lewis Hine
A structural worker bolts beams on the framework during the construction of the Empire State Building in New York City. The 1,250-foot (380 m) building opened on May 1, 1931, at the time the tallest building in the world, overtaking the Chrysler Building (seen to the right), which had just been completed the year before. The addition of a pinnacle and antennas later increased its overall height to 1,472 feet (449 m).
Image 4
David Faiman
Photograph: David Shankbone
David Faiman is an Israeli engineer and physicist recognized for his expertise on solar power. He is the director of the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center and Chairman of the Department of Solar Energy & Environmental Physics at Ben-Gurion University's Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research in Sde Boker.
Image 5
Nesjavellir
Photo credit: Gretar Ívarsson
The Nesjavellir geothermal power plant, located near Þingvellir, Iceland is the largest of five such plants in the country. Because of the high concentration of volcanoes in Iceland, geothermal energy is so inexpensive that in the wintertime, some pavements in Reykjavík and Akureyri are heated.
Image 6
George Washington Carver
Photograph credit: Unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
George Washington Carver (1860s–1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor. Born into slavery in Diamond, Missouri, he was raised by his master Moses Carver after being emancipated, having been separated from his parents as an infant during a kidnapping incident. After college, Carver became a professor at Tuskegee Institute, where he developed techniques to improve soils depleted by repeated plantings of cotton. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, as a source of their own food and to improve their quality of life. Carver spent years developing and promoting products made from peanuts, although none became commercially successful. Apart from his work to improve the lives of farmers, he was also a leader in promoting environmentalism. Carver received numerous honors for his work, including the NAACP's Spingarn Medal. In an era of very high racial polarization, his fame reached beyond the black community; he was widely recognized and praised in the white community for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a "black Leonardo".

This picture of Carver was taken around 1910 and is in the collection of the Tuskegee University archives.
Image 7
Telephone
Credit: Berthold Werner
A telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that converts sound, typically the human voice, into electronic signals suitable for transmission via cables or other transmission media over long distances through satellite.
Image 8
Mars rovers
Photograph: NASA
Two Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers stand with three vehicles, providing a size comparison of three generations of Mars rovers. Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover test vehicle, a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed Curiosity on Mars in 2012.
Image 9
Four-stroke cycle
Photo credit: Eric Pierce
The four-stroke cycle of an internal combustion engine is the cycle most commonly used for automotive and industrial purposes today, including cars, trucks, and generators.

The cycle was invented by Nikolaus Otto in 1876, and is also called the Otto cycle. The cycle is characterized by four strokes, or straight movements in a single direction, of the piston.
Image 10
SOCATA TBM
Photograph credit: Michael Mainiero
The SOCATA TBM (now Daher TBM) is a family of high-performance single-engine turboprop business and utility light aircraft manufactured by Daher. This SOCATA TBM 900 was photographed in flight during the 2015 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The aircraft features a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 engine, and a five-blade carbon-fiber propeller, which increases performance and decreases cabin noise. In a passenger configuration, the pressurized cabin is typically fitted with highly finished interiors, featuring luxury materials such as leather and wood veneers.
Image 11
Laptop computer
Credit: Mike McGregor
The OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive subnotebook laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries.
Image 12
Mechanical advantage
Image credit: Prolineserver/Tomia
This diagram of four pulley systems illustrates how increasing the number of pulleys increases the mechanical advantage, making the load easier to lift. MA is the factor by which a mechanism multiplies the force put into it. In this diagram, 100 newtons is required to lift the weight off the ground. Each additional pulley increases the MA such that the four-pulley system only needs 25 newtons to accomplish the same task, but the rope must be pulled four times as far.
Image 13
Aerospike engine
Photo credit: Marshall Space Flight Center
A test firing of twin linear XRS-2200 aerospike engines, originally built for the Lockheed Martin X-33, a next-generation, commercially operated reusable launch vehicle. The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that maintains its efficiency across a wide range of altitudes through the use of an aerospike nozzle. A vehicle with an aerospike engine uses 25-30% less fuel at low altitudes, where most missions have the greatest need for thrust.
Image 14
Wheel
Credit: fir0002
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axial bearing. The wheel is one of the main components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines.
Image 15
Sukhoi Su-30
Photo: Sergey Krivchikov
The Sukhoi Su-30 is a twin-engine, two-seat supermanoeuverable fighter aircraft developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions. Its primary users are Russia, India, China, Venezuela, and Malaysia.
Image 16
Burj Khalifa
Photograph: Donald Y Tong
Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and currently the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). It was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development known as Downtown Dubai. Construction took over five years, and the skyscraper was officially opened in January 2010.
Image 17
Hybrid-propellant rocket
Photograph credit: Matt Steiner and Kees08
A hybrid-propellant rocket is a rocket with an engine that uses propellants in two different phases, one solid and the other gaseous or liquid. The concept can be traced back to at least the 1930s.

This picture shows a transparent 3D-printed hybrid-rocket fuel grain with dual helical fuel ports, a post-combustion chamber, and a de Laval nozzle, photographed prior to the hot-fire test. The motor used nitrous oxide as the oxidizer and Pyrodex pellets for the igniter.
Image 18
N700 Series Shinkansen
Photograph credit: Dllu

The N700 Series Shinkansen is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train with tilting capability developed jointly by JR Central and JR West. It has been used on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines since 2007. This photograph shows the train travelling at approximately 300 km/h through Himeji Station, and was captured with a line scan camera using strip photography.
Image 19
Filling station
Photograph: Uwe Aranas
A filling station in Sabah, Malaysia, operated by Royal Dutch Shell. Filling stations, also known under a wide variety of names, are facilities that sell fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. They include one or more fuel dispensers, which distribute fuels such as gasoline and diesel into the tanks within vehicles and calculate the financial cost of the fuel transferred. Filling stations may also include air compressors and electricity sockets, which may inflate tyres or offer charging stations. Many filling stations also incorporate a convenience store, where customers can purchase snacks and other goods.
Image 20
Overhead power line
Credit: Simon Koopmann
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors suspended by towers or utility poles.

Main topics

General images -

The following are images from various technology-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An axehead made of iron, dating from the Swedish Iron Age (from History of technology)
Image 2A variety of stone tools (from History of technology)
Image 3Pont du Gard in France, a Roman aqueduct (from History of technology)
Image 4Eric M. C. Tigerstedt (1887–1925) was known as a pioneer of sound-on-film technology. Tigerstedt in 1915. (from Invention)
Image 5Self-replicating 3D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 6Clock from Salisbury Cathedral, ca. 1386 (from History of technology)
Image 7Design for a flying machine (c.1488) by da Vinci (from History of technology)
Image 8A rare 1884 photo showing the experimental recording of voice patterns by a photographic process at the Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory in Washington, D.C. Many of their experimental designs panned out in failure. (from Invention)
Image 9Newcomen steam engine for pumping mines (from History of technology)
Image 10Agriculture preceded writing in the history of technology. (from History of technology)
Image 11A water-powered mine hoist used for raising ore, ca. 1556 (from History of technology)
Image 12Artificial intelligence (from Emerging technologies)
Image 13Solid-state air batteries
Li-Air composition (from Emerging technologies)
Image 14The wheel, invented sometime before the 4th millennium BC, is one of the most ubiquitous and important technologies. This detail of the "Standard of Ur", c. 2500 BCE., displays a Sumerian chariot. (from History of technology)
Image 15A late Bronze Age sword or dagger blade (from History of technology)
Image 16The compartmented water wheel, here its overshot version (from History of technology)
Image 17Walls at Sacsayhuaman (from History of technology)
Image 18Dome of Florence Cathedral (from History of technology)
Image 19Ford assembly line, 1913. The magneto assembly line was the first. (from History of technology)
Image 20'BUILD YOUR OWN TELEVISION RECEIVER.' Science and Invention magazine cover, November 1928 (from Invention)
Image 21The Gutenberg press was voted the most important invention of the second millennium. (from Invention)
Image 22Alessandro Volta with the first electrical battery. Volta is recognized as an influential inventor. (from Invention)
Image 23NASA Fuel cell stack
Direct-methanol cell. (from Emerging technologies)
Image 24The preserved Rocket (from History of technology)
Image 253D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 26Top 30 AI patent applicants in 2016 (from Emerging technologies)
Image 27The Mars Exploration Rovers provided huge amounts of information by functioning well beyond NASA's original lifespan estimates. (from History of technology)
Image 28Edison electric light bulbs 1879–80 (from History of technology)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that Research Policy is regarded as the leading journal in the field of innovation studies?
... that Theresa M. Korn turned down a scholarship to the Carnegie Institute of Technology in order to become the institute's first female engineer?
... that Pamela McCorduck, who chronicled the evolution of artificial intelligence, regretted not recognizing the technology's potential for misuse?
... that Peter Corby's electric trouser press used technology designed for Concorde?
... that the Atari 410 Program Recorder was used to store programs on the Atari 8-bit family, but was also used for computer aided instruction?
... that Henry E. Sigerist felt "depressed" after reading A History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries?
... that a researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation described Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts as "a technology that should not exist"?
... that Mary Earle was born near Ben Nevis, and although she became a professor of food technology in New Zealand, she never forgot her Scottish roots?

News

December 21, 2023 –: The International Trade Commission rejects Apple’s appeal to a order blocking the company from using technology underlying the Blood oxygen measurement feature on its smart watches. In response, Apple suspends sales of the products. (AP)
November 17, 2023 – APEC United States 2023: The Philippines and the United States sign a deal for the latter to export nuclear technology and materials to the former. (Reuters)
October 24, 2023 –: The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China votes to remove several state council members from their positions, including defense minister Li Shangfu, finance minister Liu Kun, and science minister Wang Zhigang. (Reuters via CNA)

Related portals

WikiProjects

Parent project

Technology

Related projects

Architecture
Computing
- Computer Science
Engineering
Electronics
Energy development
Energy
History of Science
Metalworking
Skyscrapers
Telecommunications
Video games
Woodworking

Things you can do

Check the recent changes page for improvements, other changes, and vandalism to these articles
Article requests: Computer science, computing, and Internet topics • Engineering topics • Technology and tools topics
Deletion discussions: Listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Technology
Expand stub articles: stub categories Electronics • Engineer • Optics • Robotics • Telecommunications • Wireless
Notability: Articles with notability concerns, listed at WikiProject Notability
Requested pictures: Technology topics, requested pictures

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.