Technology facts for kids

A steam turbine with its cover open, showing how energy technology works.

Technology is about using knowledge to solve problems and create useful things. It helps us reach practical goals, often in ways that can be repeated. The word "technology" can also refer to the things we create. These can be physical tools like kitchen tools or machines. They can also be non-physical, like software programs. Technology is super important in science, engineering, and our everyday life.

New technologies have changed society a lot. Early humans used stone tools. They also learned to control fire. This helped human brains grow and language develop. The wheel, invented in the Bronze Age, made travel easier. It also led to more complex machines. Later inventions like the printing press, telephone, and Internet made communication much simpler. They also helped create a world rich in information.

Technology helps our world grow and makes life better. But it can also have downsides. These include pollution and using up too many natural resources. Sometimes, new machines can replace human jobs. People often discuss how to use technology wisely. They also talk about how to make sure it helps everyone.

What Does "Technology" Mean?

The word "technology" comes from Ancient Greek words. Tékhnē meant "craft" or "art." Logía meant "study" or "knowledge." So, technology is like the "study of crafts" or "knowledge of how to make things."

In the past, it meant a way of doing things. This included skills like dancing or building. Over time, especially in the 20th century, its meaning changed. Now, it mostly means using scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems.

A Journey Through Technology's History

Early Human Innovations

A person holding a hand axe, an early stone tool.

Early humans, called hominids, learned to make tools by watching and trying things. About 2 million years ago, they made the first stone tools. They would chip pieces off a rock to create a sharp hand axe. Later, they learned to make even finer tools.

The discovery of fire was a huge step forward. Humans used fire for at least 1.5 million years. Fire, burning wood and charcoal, let them cook food. Cooked food was easier to digest and more nutritious. Some scientists think cooking helped human brains grow bigger. Fire also brought people together, which might have helped language develop.

Other important inventions from this time were clothing and shelter. Clothing, made from animal furs, helped people live in colder places. This allowed humans to move out of Africa. Early shelters were simple huts. Over time, these became more complex.

The Agricultural Revolution

Many Neolithic tools, including axes and chisels.

The Neolithic Revolution was a time of fast technological growth. People started farming instead of hunting and gathering. This meant they could stay in one place. They built villages and later, cities.

New tools like the polished stone axe helped clear forests for farms. Farming fed more people. It also meant families could have more children. Children could help with farm work.

As populations grew, people started doing different jobs. Some farmed, others built, or made tools. This led to the first cities and civilizations like Sumer. The invention of writing was also key. It helped share knowledge and led to libraries and schools.

People also learned to work with metals. They found gold, copper, silver, and lead in nature. They learned to melt and shape these metals. Copper tools were much better than stone or bone tools. Later, they mixed metals to make alloys like bronze and brass. Iron tools, like steel, came even later.

Ancient World Innovations

The wheel was invented around 4,000 BCE.

The Ljubljana Marshes Wheel with axle, the oldest wooden wheel found as of 2024.

After fire, humans found other energy sources. The sailing ship was an early use of wind power. Egyptians used the flooding of the Nile to water their farms. They built canals to control the water. The ancient Sumerians also used complex irrigation systems.

The wheel was a huge invention. It was likely invented in different places around 4,000 BCE. The oldest wooden wheel found is from Slovenia. It is over 5,000 years old.

The wheel changed trade and warfare. Wagons could carry heavy loads. The potter's wheel helped make pottery faster. Later, wheels were used to power water wheels and windmills. This used non-human power sources.

Early roads were stone-paved streets in cities like Ur. Timber roads were also built through swamps. The Minoans on the island of Crete built a paved road over 50 km long.

The Pont du Gard in France, a famous Roman aqueduct.

Ancient homes had running water. The Palace of Knossos had bathtubs like modern ones. Some Minoan homes even had toilets that could be flushed. The ancient Romans built many public flush toilets. These emptied into a large sewage system. The Cloaca Maxima in Rome was built in the 6th century BCE and is still used today.

The Romans also built amazing aqueducts. These carried water over long distances. The first Roman aqueduct was built in 312 BCE. Roman aqueducts stretched over 450 km in total.

Pre-modern Advancements

Innovations continued through the Middle Ages. Silk production spread from Asia to Europe. The horse collar and horseshoes improved farming and travel. Simple machines like the lever and pulley were combined. This led to tools like the wheelbarrow, windmills, and clocks. Universities like Oxford and Cambridge helped spread scientific ideas.

The Renaissance brought many new ideas. The movable type printing press came to Europe. This made sharing knowledge much easier. Technology and science began to help each other grow.

Modern Era Discoveries

The automobile, like this original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, changed personal travel.

The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century. The discovery of steam power led to many new machines. There were big changes in farming, manufacturing, and transport. Factories became common. A century later, the Second Industrial Revolution brought more scientific discoveries. New technologies included sewage systems, electricity, light bulbs, and automobiles. These led to advances in medicine and engineering. Cities grew quickly, and skyscrapers appeared. Communication improved with the telegraph, telephone, radio, and television.

The 20th century saw many more inventions. Nuclear fission led to nuclear power. Computers became powerful tools. The invention of the transistor made computers much smaller. This started the digital age. Optical fiber and the Internet made communication fast and global. This began the Information Age. The Space Age started in 1957 with Sputnik 1. Later, humans traveled to the moon. In medicine, new technologies helped with diagnosis and treatment.

Today, making and maintaining technology is very complex. Entire industries exist to develop new tools. People who design, build, and use these technologies need special training. Fields like engineering and computer science have grown to support them.

How Technology Shapes Our World

Technology is a main reason for long-term economic growth. In the past, getting enough energy was hard. New technologies helped humans get much more energy. Fire made more foods edible. It also helped with smelting metals for tools. Then, farming meant people could settle down. They formed complex societies with towns and cities.

Technology has made life better in many ways. It brings comfort, improves our quality of life, and helps with medical progress. But it can also cause problems. It can change how society is organized. It can lead to pollution.

In recent years, social media has become very popular. It affects democracy, economy, and social life. The internet was first seen as a way to share knowledge and education. Now, people also study its downsides. These include false information and online disagreements.

Since the 1970s, people have worried about technology's impact on the environment. This led to more investment in solar and wind energy. These are forms of clean energy.

Technology's Social Impact

Jobs and Automation

Technology has always helped humans produce more. Machines have sometimes replaced jobs, especially in farming. But new, often better-paying jobs were also created. Studies have shown that computers did not cause a lot of long-term job loss. Artificial intelligence (AI) is still new. Experts are discussing if AI will follow the same pattern. Some predict AI will replace many jobs but also create new ones.

Online Safety and Privacy

As we use more technology, safety and privacy become important. Billions of people use online payment methods. These help transfer money safely. But criminals sometimes try to get around security. It's important to protect your information online. The privacy of cryptocurrency is also debated. Many like its privacy, but others want more transparency.

Technology and the Environment

Technology can help or harm the environment. Environmental technology aims to fix or prevent environmental damage. This includes stopping pollution or using waste products. It also includes efforts to reverse deforestation. New technologies in climate engineering might help stop global warming.

However, technology has also increased greenhouse gases. These gases, like carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere. This causes the greenhouse effect, leading to global warming and climate change. More technological innovation often means more greenhouse gas emissions.

Understanding Pollution

Pollution means harmful things are in the environment. This can cause bad effects. Even ancient civilizations, like the Inca Empire, caused some pollution. They released lead into the air when melting metals.

Thinking About Technology's Purpose

The philosophy of technology explores how we design things. It also looks at what these creations mean for us. This field has grown a lot since the 1970s. It asks how technology affects society and culture.

Some thinkers saw technology as an extension of human abilities. Others believed it could be used to control people. Today, we think about how humans can live well with technology.

Some people believe technology causes social changes that cannot be stopped. Others argue that our values and laws shape technology. Modern studies look at how technology, people, and ideas work together. They consider the choices we make when creating technology.

Some critics worry that too much focus on technology can harm other parts of culture. They suggest that technology could take away our freedom and well-being.

Making Ethical Choices with Technology

The ethics of technology looks at the right and wrong ways to use technology. It explores how to prevent bad outcomes from new inventions. There are many ethical questions about technology. These range from how professionals use it to its role in society.

Important discussions include genetically modified organisms. People also debate using robotic soldiers and fairness in algorithmic bias. Making sure AI acts in ways that match human values is another key topic.

This field includes Bioethics, which covers cloning and genetic engineering. Computer ethics focuses on computing issues. Cyberethics deals with internet topics like copyright and privacy. Nanoethics looks at changing matter at a tiny scale. Engineering ethics guides engineers in their responsibilities.

A big part of technology ethics is about ethics of artificial intelligence. This includes robot ethics, which considers how we design and treat robots. Machine ethics focuses on making sure AI acts ethically. Key challenges are making AI align with our goals and reducing unfairness in its decisions. Some experts warn about the risks of very powerful AI. They suggest ways to control AI capabilities.

Other ethical fields also deal with technology. These include military ethics and media ethics.

Imagining Technology's Future

Futures studies explores how society and technology might grow. It tries to imagine different possible futures. It also considers how human values can guide new technologies. Researchers study past and present trends. They use surveys and computer models to guess what might happen. Science fiction often gives ideas for future research.

Future Challenges

Researchers also look at big risks that could harm humanity. These include risks from advanced artificial general intelligence or misuse of biological knowledge. They also consider climate change and nanotechnology. However, technology can also help us solve problems. It can protect us from things like asteroid impacts. Experts suggest we should always question if technological progress is always good. We should also prepare for new technologies before they become dangerous.

Exciting New Technologies

Experimental 3D printing of muscle tissue.

Emerging technologies are new inventions that are still developing. Their full uses are not yet known. Examples include nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, and blockchains.

Some futurists believe the next big changes will come from genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics. Genetic engineering could give us more control over human biology. This could lead to "directed evolution." Some worry about the social impacts of this. Nanotechnology could let us change matter at a tiny level. This might allow us to reshape ourselves and our environment. Nanobots could even fight cancer inside our bodies. Autonomous robots are advancing fast. They are expected to take over dangerous tasks. These include search and rescue and firefighting.

Experts predict that artificial general intelligence (AGI) will keep improving. Some believe AGI could do every task better and cheaper than humans. This could automate many jobs. This has led to discussions about universal basic income. It also highlights the need for more computer science education.

Different Ways of Thinking About Technology

Appropriate Technology

Some people in the 1960s wanted simpler technology. They preferred local, sustainable, and decentralized tools. This idea is called appropriate technology. It influenced later groups like hacker culture.

Hopes for Technology

Technological utopianism is the belief that technology can create a perfect society. In this society, everyone's needs are met. Goals include a world with plenty for everyone. It also includes longer lives and even uploading minds. Movements like transhumanism believe in improving human life through science and technology.

Some people, called singularitarians, think super-intelligent machines will speed up progress incredibly fast. This could lead to changes we can barely imagine. This moment is called the technological singularity.

Concerns About Technology

Technology's big role in our lives has also caused worries. The earliest known protest against technology was Luddism. This was a reaction against machines replacing textile workers.

Some people choose to live "off-the-grid." They want to use less technology and be closer to nature. The ecovillage movement also tries to balance technology with nature.

How Technology Connects with Science and Engineering

Antoine Lavoisier experimenting with combustion generated by amplified sunlight.

Engineering is the process of developing technology. It often involves solving problems with specific limits. Technology is about doing things, while science is about understanding how things work. As one philosopher said, "science concerns itself with what is, technology with what is to be."

The link between scientific discovery and new technology is complex. Many technologies come from engineering, experimenting, and even luck. For example, early jet engines were developed by testing them until they broke. Then, engineers fixed them and tried again. Scientific explanations often come after a technology is developed. Many discoveries, like penicillin, happened by chance.

However, modern technology relies more and more on deep scientific knowledge. Patents today often refer to scientific research. Studies show that inventions based on scientific discoveries are often more valuable.

Animals and Their Tools

This adult gorilla uses a branch as a walking stick to check water depth.

Humans are not the only ones who use basic technology. Other animals also use tools. For a long time, people thought only humans used tools. But then, scientists saw chimpanzees, dolphins, and crows using them. For example, chimpanzees use sticks to get termites. They also use leaves as sponges. West African chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts.

Tool use is not the only animal technology. Beaver dams are another example. Beavers build dams with sticks and stones. These dams have a big impact on river habitats.