Portal:Technology

The Technology Portal

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
M-122 was a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan entirely in the city of St. Ignace. The highway connected US Highway 2 (US 2) to the State Highway Ferry Dock used before the Mackinac Bridge was built. It was retired and the road returned to local control in 1957. (Full article...)
Image 2
Carly Marie Foulkes is a Canadian model and actress who became known for appearing in a series of T-Mobile myTouch 4G television commercials, in which she often wore pink/magenta-and-white summer dresses. She continued as spokesperson in other T-Mobile ads in which she was depicted as a pink-and-black leather-clad biker girl. She served as the T-Mobile spokesperson primarily from fall 2010 until spring 2013, with occasional appearances since then. (Full article...)
Image 3
New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a 126.01-mile-long (202.79 km) northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future I-86) in the Southern Tier village of Owego, Tioga County. Its northern terminus is at a junction with East Main Street in the city of Rochester, Monroe County. Between the two endpoints, NY 96 passes through the city of Ithaca and the villages of Waterloo, Victor, and Pittsford. NY 96 is signed north–south for its entire length, although most of the route in Ontario County travels in an east–west direction.

All of NY 96, except from Candor to Ithaca and from northwest of Victor to Pittsford, was originally designated as part of New York State Route 15 in 1924. NY 15 was originally routed on modern NY 96B between Candor and Ithaca, and modern NY 64 and NY 251 between Victor and Pittsford. It was realigned onto the modern alignment of NY 96 between Victor and Pittsford in 1930. NY 15 was renumbered to New York State Route 2 c. 1939 to eliminate duplication with U.S. Route 15 (US 15). NY 2 was subsequently redesignated as NY 96 in 1942 as the alignments of NY 2 and NY 96, a route in Rensselaer County, were swapped. NY 96 was realigned again in the early 1950s, this time between Candor and Ithaca, to serve the village of Spencer west of Candor. Near Rochester, NY 96 followed what is now Interstate 490 (I-490) for a short time during the 1950s and early 1960s. The 2017 route log erroneously shows that NY 96's northern terminus ends at Union Street. Whether by accident or as a prank, there is occasionally a route sign that was installed upside down. You can notice this when you see the white shield that surrounds the "96" with its point on the top. (Full article...)
Image 4

Grenville in 1935

HMS Grenville was the flotilla leader for the G-class destroyers, built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. She spent most of the pre-war period as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. The ship was transferred to the British Isles to escort shipping in local waters shortly after the beginning of World War II. In January 1940, Grenville struck a mine outside the Thames Estuary and sank with the loss of 77 of her crew. (Full article...)
Image 5
Tanum Tunnel (Norwegian: Tanumtunnelen) is 3,590-meter-long (2.23 mi) double-track railway tunnel on the Asker Line, between Jong in Bærum and Åstad in Asker, Norway. It was built as part of the first stage of the Asker Line, between Asker and Sandvika; construction started in February 2002 and the tunnel opened on 27 August 2005. The tunnel was built by AF Gruppen for the Norwegian National Rail Administration. Most of the tunneling was conducted using the drilling and blasting method, although the easternmost 800 meters (2,600 ft) were built using the cut-and-cover method. After the tunnel opened, there have been problems with leaks damaging the superstructure. The tunnel has double track, is electrified and allows for a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph). The cost to build the tunnel, excluding the superstructure, was 370 million Norwegian krone (NOK). The tunnel will accelerate intercity and regional traffic west of Oslo and free up capacity for the Oslo Commuter Rail on the Drammen Line. (Full article...)
Image 6

Geilo Airport, Dagali (Norwegian: Geilo flyplass, Dagali; formerly Geilo lufthavn, Dagali; ICAO: ENDI) is a private airport located at Dagali in Hol in Buskerud, Norway. It was previously a public airport that was both a regional airport and served international tourist charter airlines serving the nearby ski resorts centered on Geilo. The airport opened in 1985, but failed commercially and was eventually closed in 2003.

Originally featuring a 1,300-meter (4,300 ft) runway, it was extended to 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) in 1988. Now it is limited to 850 meters (2,790 ft) which can still be used for private aircraft. The airport has been converted to a go cart track, though there is still some general aviation at the airport. The commercial services have been moved to Fagernes Airport, Leirin, which opened in 1987. The airport is owned and operated by a company owned by the municipalities of Hol and Nore og Uvdal. (Full article...)
Image 7

Exterior of Sembawang MRT station

Sembawang MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North–south line (NSL). Located in Sembawang, Singapore along Sembawang Road, the station is close to the Sun Plaza shopping centre and Sembawang Bus Interchange. The station is operated by SMRT Trains.

Originally planned to be built later than the other stations of the Woodlands extension, the station's construction was brought forward when plans were revised in November 1992. Completed along with the other Woodlands extension stations on 10 February 1996, Sembawang station has the most number of bicycle stands for cyclists working at Sembawang Shipyard. The number of bicycle parking spaces further increased through the National Cycling Plan in 2010. The station features a kampung-style roof and is also integrated with other transportation modes. (Full article...)

Selected picture

Image 1
Curiosity (rover)
Photograph: NASA
A self-portrait by the Mars rover Curiosity on October 31, 2012. The mosaic is stitched from a set of 55 images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager at "Rocknest," the spot in Gale crater where the mission's first scoop sampling took place. Self-portraits such as this help NASA document the state of the rover and track changes, such as dust accumulation and wheel wear.
Image 2
Continuous casting
Photo: Alchemist-hp
A disc of copper made by continuous casting, the process whereby molten metal is solidified into a "semifinished" state for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Continuous casting replaced the creation of ingots using stationary moulds. The process allows lower-cost production of metal sections with better quality, due to the inherently lower costs of continuous, standardised production of a product, as well as providing increased control over the process through automation. After casting, this disc was then etched to achieve its final state.
Image 3
Jet engine
Diagram: Jeff Dahl
A diagram of a typical turbojet engine. Air is compressed as it enters the engine, and is mixed with fuel that burns in the combustion section. Released through the exhaust, the resulting hot gases provide forward thrust and turn the turbines that drive the fan blades of the compressor.
Image 4
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 5
Mary Jackson
Photograph credit: Langley Research Center; restored by Adam Cuerden
Mary Jackson (1921–2005) was an African American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was succeeded by NASA in 1958. For most of her career, she worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; starting as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division, she later took advanced engineering classes and, in 1958, became NASA's first black female engineer.

After 34 years at NASA, Jackson had earned the most senior engineering title available. Realizing that she could not earn further promotions without becoming a supervisor, she accepted a demotion to become a manager of the Federal Women's Program in the NASA Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, as well as of the Affirmative Action Program. In this role, she worked to influence both the hiring and promotion of women in NASA's science, engineering and mathematics careers. She was portrayed by Janelle Monáe as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. This picture, taken in 1980, shows Jackson working at NASA Langley.
Image 6
Rigger
Photo credit: Alfred T. Palmer
"Big Pete" Ramagos, rigger at work on Douglas Dam, Tennessee, June 1942. A rigger is a person or company which specializes in the lifting and/or moving of extremely large and/or heavy objects. Riggers use equipment expressly designed for moving and lifting objects where ordinary material handling equipment cannot go.
Image 7
Sukhoi Superjet 100
Photograph: Katsuhiko Tokunaga/SuperJet International
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern fly-by-wire twin-engine regional jet with 8 to 108 passenger seats. Development began in 2000; the aircraft had its maiden flight on 19 May 2008 and entered commercial service on 21 April 2011. This aircraft is seen flying off the coast of Italy near Sanremo.
Image 8
Nuclear weapon
Image credit: Fastfission
Schematic representation of the two methods with which to assemble an atomic bomb. An A-bomb produces its explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. A mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method, shown on top here), or by compressing a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density (the "implosion" method, at bottom).
Image 9
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 10
Paddle steamer
Daguerreotype credit: Unknown
A daguerreotype from the 1850s of the Ben Campbell, a paddle steamer—a ship or boat driven by a steam engine that uses one or more paddle wheels to develop thrust for propulsion. The paddle wheel was the first form of mechanical propulsion for a boat, but has now been almost entirely superseded by more modern forms of marine propulsion.
Image 11
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 12
Steam turbine
Photo credit: Christian Kuhna
The rotor of a modern steam turbine , which converts steam (heat) energy into kinetic (mechanical) energy. The steam path is from the smallest blade, expanding through progressively larger blade elements. Steam turbines are used in power plants to extract mechanical work from pressurized steam and benefit from their high efficiency and high power-to-weight ratio compared to other technologies, leading to their widespread deployment from electricity generation to marine propulsion.
Image 13
Eiffel Tower
Photo: Benh Lieu Song
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the Champ de Mars. At 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, the tower, an iron lattice tower, is the tallest building in Paris, the most-visited paid monument in the world, as well as one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, it was built as an entrance arch for the 1889 Exposition Universelle and has since become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France.
Image 14
Pin tumbler lock
Photo credit: Eric Pierce
The pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that utilizes a group of pins of varying lengths to prevent opening the lock without the correct key. Pin tumblers are most commonly employed in cylinder locks, but may also be found in tubular or radial locks.

When the correct key is inserted, the gaps between the key pins (red) and driver pins (blue) align with the edge of the plug (yellow).
Image 15
Caliper
Image credit: Joaquim Alves Gaspar
An animation showing how to use a vernier caliper, which is a caliper that uses a vernier scale to interpolate linear measurements. Vernier calipers can measure internal and external dimensions using, respectively, the uppermost and lower jaws, and also depths, using the depth probe (located at the right end). In this example, the first two digits (2.4) are decided by the location of the zero of the vernier scale in the centimeter scale, and the last digit (0.07), by the first line of the vernier scale that exactly matches a line of the centimeter scale above.
Image 16
Enriched uranium
Photo: United States Department of Energy
A billet of enriched uranium, which is uranium where the percent composition of uranium-235 (²³⁵U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and military nuclear weapons.
Image 17
Fuel injection
Image credit: WikipedianProlific
An animated cut-away diagram of a typical fuel injector, which is used to spray controlled amounts of petrol (gasoline) into an internal combustion engine. A solenoid is activated when fuel is intended to be delivered to the engine, causing the plunger to become pulled toward the solenoid by magnetic force. This uncovers the valve opening, allowing fuel to flow into the atomiser and out the spray tip. The route of fuel is shown in orange; grey/blue indicates no fuel present.
Image 18
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 19
Commodore 64
Photo: Evan Amos
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced in 1982 by Commodore International. Its low retail price and easy availability led to the system becoming the market leader for three years. It remains the best-selling single personal computer model of all time.
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 1Alessandro Volta with the first electrical battery. Volta is recognized as an influential inventor. (from Invention)
Image 2Top 30 AI patent applicants in 2016 (from Emerging technologies)
Image 3The Mars Exploration Rovers provided huge amounts of information by functioning well beyond NASA's original lifespan estimates. (from History of technology)
Image 4Design for a flying machine (c.1488) by da Vinci (from History of technology)
Image 5A variety of stone tools (from History of technology)
Image 6The Gutenberg press was voted the most important invention of the second millennium. (from Invention)
Image 7An axehead made of iron, dating from the Swedish Iron Age (from History of technology)
Image 8Newcomen steam engine for pumping mines (from History of technology)
Image 9Walls at Sacsayhuaman (from History of technology)
Image 10Ford assembly line, 1913. The magneto assembly line was the first. (from History of technology)
Image 11A water-powered mine hoist used for raising ore, ca. 1556 (from History of technology)
Image 12NASA Fuel cell stack
Direct-methanol cell. (from Emerging technologies)
Image 133D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 14Artificial intelligence (from Emerging technologies)
Image 15Agriculture preceded writing in the history of technology. (from History of technology)
Image 16Self-replicating 3D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 17The compartmented water wheel, here its overshot version (from History of technology)
Image 18The preserved Rocket (from History of technology)
Image 19Eric M. C. Tigerstedt (1887–1925) was known as a pioneer of sound-on-film technology. Tigerstedt in 1915. (from Invention)
Image 20'BUILD YOUR OWN TELEVISION RECEIVER.' Science and Invention magazine cover, November 1928 (from Invention)
Image 21Clock from Salisbury Cathedral, ca. 1386 (from History of technology)
Image 22Solid-state air batteries
Li-Air composition (from Emerging technologies)
Image 23A late Bronze Age sword or dagger blade (from History of technology)
Image 24The 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 25Dome of Florence Cathedral (from History of technology)
Image 26A 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 27Edison electric light bulbs 1879–80 (from History of technology)
Image 28Pont du Gard in France, a Roman aqueduct (from History of technology)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that Turkey's Anadolu Shipyard signed a contract with India's Hindustan Shipyard to transfer technology for the building of five fleet support ships for the Indian Navy?
... that when Chorus Systèmes SA was founded in 1986, French technology start-up companies were rare?
... 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?
... that Carlisle & Finch used carbon-arc technology in both toy trains and military searchlights?
... that Justin Yu, the current Classic Tetris World Champion, is also a cellist in MIT's video game orchestra?
... 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 touch-screen technology, pay-at-the-pump, car phones, and Coca-Cola Cherry were shown at the 1982 World's Fair?
... that Peter Corby's electric trouser press used technology designed for Concorde?

News

February 6, 2024 –: The Dutch owner of Yandex, a Russian multinational technology company and search engine, announces the sale of the company to a "fully Russian-owned entity" for 475 billion rubles (US$5.2 billion). (BBC News)
January 29, 2024 –: American neurotechnology company Neuralink announces it has implanted its brain–computer interface in a human brain for the first time, and that the person is "recovering well" with "initial results showing promising neuron spike detection". (The Guardian)
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)

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