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], 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 ]]]
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 chariotShortcut
Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistory, followed by the control of fire—which in turn contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age, according to the cooking hypothesis. 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...)
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Image 1 Sprinter railcar on the Stony Point line. The Stony Point line is a commuter railway line in the outer metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's only diesel service on the metropolitan network and the tenth longest line at 31 kilometres (19 mi). The line acts as an extension of the Frankston line with services running from Frankston station to the small town of Stony Point in the south-east, serving 10 stations via Leawarra, Baxter, Hastings, and Bittern. The line operates for approximately 13 hours a day (from approximately 5:30 am to around 10:30 pm), unlike other lines on the network, which provide 24-hour service on Friday and Saturday nights. Headways of 90 to 120 minutes are operated throughout the day due to limited patronage and infrastructure constraints. Trains on the Stony Point line run as two one-car formations of V/Line Sprinter DMUs.
Sections of the Stony Point line opened as early as 1888, with the line fully extended to Stony Point in 1889. Only two stations have opened since its extension in the 1880s—Leawarra and Morradoo. The line was built to connect Melbourne and Frankston with the rural towns of Baxter, Hastings, and Bittern, amongst others. The line also facilitates freight services to the Port of Hastings. Significant growth has occurred since the line's opening, with a plan to extend the Frankston line along part of the Stony Point line to Baxter. (Full article...)
Image 2Maryland Route 10 (MD 10) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as the Arundel Expressway, the highway runs 7.17 miles (11.54 km) from MD 2 in Pasadena north to Interstate 695 (I-695) near Glen Burnie. MD 10 is a four- to six-lane freeway that serves as a bypass of MD 2 through Pasadena and Glen Burnie in northeastern Anne Arundel County. The Arundel Expressway was planned as a Baltimore–Annapolis freeway to provide relief to MD 2 between the cities as early as the 1950s. However, the portion of MD 10 south of Pasadena was removed from state plans when the I-97 corridor was chosen for the intercity freeway in the 1970s. MD 10 was constructed from I-695 to MD 710 in the early 1970s and continued south to MD 648 in the late 1970s. The freeway was extended south to MD 100 and completed to MD 2 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, respectively. (Full article...)
Image 3 Eugene W. Caldwell (1870–1918) was an American engineer, radiographer, and physician who conducted early work on the medical uses of X-rays. A native of Missouri, Caldwell studied engineering at the University of Kansas. After working as an engineer for five years, Caldwell became interested in X-rays in 1897, opening what may have been the first X-ray clinic in New York City. He taught radiography at University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College and later graduated with a medical degree from that institution.
Caldwell was president of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) in 1907, invented the first portable X-ray machine for use at a patient's bedside, and devised a positioning technique known as Caldwell's view that allowed for X-ray visualization of the sinuses. He also enhanced X-ray technology to reduce the exposure time required to obtain an image, created a stereoscopic device for X-rays so that they could show depth, and modified an existing stereoscopic fluoroscope for wartime use. (Full article...)
The 45th Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, which was approved in 1905. Construction on the segment of the line that includes 45th Street started on March 15, 1913, and was completed in 1915. The station opened on September 22, 1915, after the opening of the initial portion of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line to 59th Street. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1926–1927, and again during a renovation in 1968–1970. (Full article...)
Image 5In September 2022, Australian telecommunications company Optus suffered a data breach that affected up to 10 million current and former customers comprising a third of Australia's population. Information was illegally obtained, including names, dates of birth, home addresses, telephone numbers, email contacts, and numbers of passports and driving licences. Conflicting claims about how the breach happened were made; Optus presented it as a complicated attack on its systems while an Optus insider and the Australian Government said a human error caused a vulnerability in the company's API. A ransom notice asking for A$1,500,000 to stop the data from being sold online was issued. After a few hours, the data thieves deleted the ransom notice and apologised for their actions.
Government figures, including Home Affairs and Cyber Security MinisterClare O'Neil, and Minister for Government ServicesBill Shorten, criticised Optus for its role in the attack, and for being uncooperative with government agencies and the public. The government announced legislation, including the allowance of information-sharing with financial services and government agencies, and reforms to Australia's laws on security of critical infrastructure to help the government act in the event of future breaches. In response to the data breach, Optus agreed to pay for the replacements of compromised passports, commissioned an external review, and gave seriously affected customers a subscription to a credit monitoring service. Optus also apologised for the breach. Customers criticized Optus for not being responsive and providing inadequate responses to those affected. As of June 2023, investigations into the breach and a class-action lawsuit from affected customers were ongoing. (Full article...)
The route was designated in 1927 to run from Frenchtown to Raritan, Somerset County, running along its current alignment to Flemington and following present-day US 202 between Flemington and Raritan. By the 1940s, US 202 and Route 29 replaced Route 12 east of Flemington, and the route was officially designated to end in Flemington in 1953. There are currently plans to modify or eliminate three traffic circles along the route in Flemington to ease traffic congestion. (Full article...)
Image 3Thermoplastic-sheathed cablePhotograph credit: Petar MiloševićA thermoplastic-sheathed cable consists of a toughened outer thermoplastic sheath of polyvinyl chloride, covering one or more individual annealed copper conductors. Each of the current-carrying conductors in the "core" is insulated by an individual thermoplastic sheath, coloured to indicate the purpose of the conductor concerned. The protective earth conductor may also be covered with insulation, although, in some countries, this conductor may be left as bare copper. The type of thermoplastic, the dimensions of the conductors and the colour of their individual insulation are specified by the regulatory bodies in the various countries concerned.More selected pictures
Image 6RiggerPhoto 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.More selected pictures
Image 7Laptop computerCredit: Mike McGregorThe OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive subnotebooklaptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries. '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001B-QINU`"'
Image 8Mark IV tankPhotograph: Peter TrimmingThe Mark IV tank was introduced by the British in May 1917 to fight in World War I. The "female" version, as pictured here, was armed with five machine guns. Production of the Mark IV ceased at the end of the War in 1918. A small number served briefly with other combatants afterwards.
This Mark IV tank, on display in Ashford, Kent, was presented to the town after the end of World War I. The engine was removed to install an electricity substation inside it, though this substation was subsequently removed; the tank's interior is now empty.More selected pictures
Image 10EscalatorCredit: Stig NygaardAn 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. '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000019-QINU`"'
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.More selected pictures
Image 12WheelCredit: fir0002A 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. '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001A-QINU`"'
Image 13Soyuz MSDiagram credit: AstroBidulesThe Soyuz MS is the latest revision of the Russian spacecraft series Soyuz. It is an evolution of the Soyuz TMA-M, with modernization mostly concentrated on its communications and navigation subsystems. The spacecraft is used by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. The Soyuz MS has minimal external changes with respect to the Soyuz TMA-M, mostly limited to antennas and sensors, as well as the thruster placement. The first launch, Soyuz MS-01, took place on 7 July 2016 aboard a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle towards the International Space Station. This exploded-view diagram illustrates and labels various components of the Soyuz MS spacecraft and the Soyuz-FG rocket.More selected pictures
Image 16Apple Bandai PippinPhotograph: Evan AmosThe Apple Bandai Pippin is a multimedia technology console designed by Apple Computer based on the Apple Pippin platform, and produced by Bandai. Only 100,000 of the consoles were produced between its 1996 release and 1997 discontinuation. The Bandai Pippin was intended to create an inexpensive computer aimed mostly at playing CD-based multimedia software, especially games, but also functioning as a thin client.More selected pictures
Image 19Stockwell GaragePhotograph: David IliffAn interior view of Stockwell Garage, a large bus garage in Stockwell, London, designed by Adie, Button and Partners and opened in 1952. The 393-foot-long (120 m) roof structure, seen here, is supported by ten very shallow "two-hinged" arched ribs, between which are cantilevered barrel vaults topped by large skylights. The garage, which could originally hold 200 buses, has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1988.More selected pictures
Image 20Let L-410 TurboletPhoto: Łukasz GolowanowThe Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engined short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for passenger transport. The L-410 first flew in 1969, and with more than 1100 produced, is the most popular 19-seat plane in history.More selected pictures
Image 4A 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 15The 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)
... that Thomas Hall made an electric train that received power from the rails on which it travelled instead of onboard batteries, a new technology at the time?
... that several science fiction critics praised "Rock Diver", the first short story by American writer Harry Harrison, for its compelling take on technology for passing through matter?
Top 10 WikiProject Technology popular articles of the month
Image 3ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligencechatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in 2022. It is currently based on the GPT-4olarge language model (LLM). ChatGPT can generate human-like conversational responses and enables users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language. It is credited with accelerating the AI boom, which has led to ongoing rapid investment in and public attention to the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Some observers have raised concern about the potential of ChatGPT and similar programs to displace human intelligence, enable plagiarism, or fuel misinformation. (Full article...)
Image 5 WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices, and can be accessed from computers. The service requires a cellularmobile telephone number to sign up. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client. (Full article...)
Image 7Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by American technology conglomerate Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name derives from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities. Since 2006, Facebook allows everyone to register from 13 years old, except in the case of a handful of nations, where the age limit is 14 years. As of December 2022, Facebook claimed almost 3 billion monthly active users. As of November 2024, Facebook ranked as the third-most-visited website in the world, with 23% of its traffic coming from the United States. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s. (Full article...)
Image 9 Logo used since 2014 Netflix is an American subscription video on-demandover-the-topstreaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages. (Full article...)
Another round of blackouts in Cuba leave millions of households without power. The energy ministry says that it is prioritizing restoring electricity to hospitals and water pumping facilities. (Reuters)
The Technology Portal 
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Image 1Brusio spiral viaductPhoto: David GublerThe Bernina Express passing over the Brusio spiral viaduct. Located near Brusio, Graubünden, Switzerland, the single track nine-arched stone spiral railway viaduct was opened in 1908. It is part of the World Heritage-listed Bernina railway.More selected pictures
Image 2Bucket-wheel excavatorsPhotograph: Raimond SpekkingBucket-wheel excavators (BWEs) are heavy equipment used in surface mining. The primary function of a BWE is to act as a continuous digging machine in large-scale open pit mining operations. These BWEs were photographed at the Garzweiler surface mine in Germany.More selected pictures
Image 3Thermoplastic-sheathed cablePhotograph credit: Petar MiloševićA thermoplastic-sheathed cable consists of a toughened outer thermoplastic sheath of polyvinyl chloride, covering one or more individual annealed copper conductors. Each of the current-carrying conductors in the "core" is insulated by an individual thermoplastic sheath, coloured to indicate the purpose of the conductor concerned. The protective earth conductor may also be covered with insulation, although, in some countries, this conductor may be left as bare copper. The type of thermoplastic, the dimensions of the conductors and the colour of their individual insulation are specified by the regulatory bodies in the various countries concerned.More selected pictures
Image 5John HerschelPhotograph: Julia Margaret Cameron; restoration: Adam CuerdenJohn Herschel was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, and experimental photographer. He named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus, invented the cyanotype and actinometer, and wrote extensively on topics including meteorology, physical geography and the telescope.More selected pictures
Image 6RiggerPhoto 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.More selected pictures
Image 8Mark IV tankPhotograph: Peter TrimmingThe Mark IV tank was introduced by the British in May 1917 to fight in World War I. The "female" version, as pictured here, was armed with five machine guns. Production of the Mark IV ceased at the end of the War in 1918. A small number served briefly with other combatants afterwards.
Image 9Commodore 64Photo: Evan AmosThe 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.More selected pictures
Image 11Mary JacksonPhotograph credit: Langley Research Center; restored by Adam CuerdenMary 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.
Image 13Soyuz MSDiagram credit: AstroBidulesThe Soyuz MS is the latest revision of the Russian spacecraft series Soyuz. It is an evolution of the Soyuz TMA-M, with modernization mostly concentrated on its communications and navigation subsystems. The spacecraft is used by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. The Soyuz MS has minimal external changes with respect to the Soyuz TMA-M, mostly limited to antennas and sensors, as well as the thruster placement. The first launch, Soyuz MS-01, took place on 7 July 2016 aboard a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle towards the International Space Station. This exploded-view diagram illustrates and labels various components of the Soyuz MS spacecraft and the Soyuz-FG rocket.More selected pictures
Image 14Sukhoi Su-30Photo: Sergey KrivchikovThe 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.More selected pictures
Image 15N700 Series ShinkansenPhotograph credit: Dllu
Image 16Apple Bandai PippinPhotograph: Evan AmosThe Apple Bandai Pippin is a multimedia technology console designed by Apple Computer based on the Apple Pippin platform, and produced by Bandai. Only 100,000 of the consoles were produced between its 1996 release and 1997 discontinuation. The Bandai Pippin was intended to create an inexpensive computer aimed mostly at playing CD-based multimedia software, especially games, but also functioning as a thin client.More selected pictures
Image 18WindmillsPhotograph: UberprutserA windmill is a mill that converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Traditional windmills were often used to mill grain, pump water, or both. Most modern windmills take the form of wind turbines used to generate electricity, or windpumps used to pump water, either for land drainage or to extract groundwater.
Image 19Stockwell GaragePhotograph: David IliffAn interior view of Stockwell Garage, a large bus garage in Stockwell, London, designed by Adie, Button and Partners and opened in 1952. The 393-foot-long (120 m) roof structure, seen here, is supported by ten very shallow "two-hinged" arched ribs, between which are cantilevered barrel vaults topped by large skylights. The garage, which could originally hold 200 buses, has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1988.More selected pictures
Image 20Let L-410 TurboletPhoto: Łukasz GolowanowThe Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engined short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for passenger transport. The L-410 first flew in 1969, and with more than 1100 produced, is the most popular 19-seat plane in history.More selected pictures
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Image 1Newcomen steam engine for pumping mines (from History of technology)
Image 2Thomas Edison with his second phonograph, photographed by Levin Corbin Handy in Washington, April 1878 (from History of technology)
Image 3Top 30 AI patent applicants in 2016 (from Emerging technologies)
Image 4A 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 5Eric M. C. Tigerstedt (1887–1925) was known as a pioneer of sound-on-film technology. Tigerstedt in 1915. (from Invention)
Image 6Dome of Florence Cathedral (from History of technology)
Image 7Self-replicating 3D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 8A water-powered mine hoist used for raising ore, ca. 1556 (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 11Johannes Gutenberg's printing press was voted the most important invention of the second millennium. (from Invention)
Image 123D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 13The compartmented water wheel, here its overshot version (from History of technology)
Image 14The preserved Rocket (from History of technology)
Image 15The 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 16Solid-state air batteries
Image 17Pont du Gard in France, a Roman aqueduct (from History of technology)
Image 18Design for a flying machine (c.1488) by da Vinci (from History of technology)
Image 19'BUILD YOUR OWN TELEVISION RECEIVER.' Science and Invention magazine cover, November 1928 (from Invention)
Image 20Edison electric light bulbs 1879–80 (from History of technology)
Image 21A variety of stone tools (from History of technology)
Image 22NASA Fuel cell stack
Image 23A late Bronze Age sword or dagger blade (from History of technology)
Image 24Agriculture preceded writing in the history of technology. (from History of technology)
Image 25Alessandro Volta with the first electrical battery. Volta is recognized as an influential inventor. (from Invention)
Image 26An axehead made of iron, dating from the Swedish Iron Age (from History of technology)
Image 27Clock from Salisbury Cathedral, ca. 1386 (from History of technology)
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