Category: Technology

The Heat Was On: Control of Fire by Prehistoric Humans

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Use and control of fire was a gradual process, proceeding through many stages. Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Introduction The control of fire by early humans was a turning point in the technological evolution of human beings. Fire provided a source of warmth and lighting, protection from predators (especially at night), a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and a method for cooking food. These cultural advances allowed human[…]

Common Ground: Community Radio as a Tool for Climate Change Education

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Several organizations have been engaged in using community radio as a tool for raising awareness and encouraging participation. Introduction Community radio is radio run by and for communities in local languages, often with programming focused on issues at the heart of local development, such as climate change and environmental degradation. Stories about climate and environmental[…]

Breaker, Breaker: The Science and Use of Radio Waves

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Radio waves were first predicted by mathematical work done in 1867 by Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell. Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Introduction Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies as high as 300 gigahertz (GHz) to as low as 30 hertz (Hz).[1] At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (shorter than a grain[…]

Communication Revolution: A History of Radio

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Radio development began as “wireless telegraphy”. Later radio history increasingly involves matters of broadcasting. Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Invention and Early Growth The idea of wireless communication predates the discovery of “radio” with experiments in “wireless telegraphy” via inductive and capacitive induction and transmission through the ground, water, and even train tracks from the 1830s[…]

Heinrich Hertz and the Discovery of Radio Waves in 1886

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Hertz’s experiments produced and received what are now called radio waves in the very high frequency range. Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Biography Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was a German physicist who first conclusively proved the existence of the electromagnetic waves predicted by James Clerk Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism. The unit of frequency, cycle per second, was named the “hertz” in his[…]

Iconic Cars in the 20th Century

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In the time span of human history, automobiles have not been around for a very long time. It was about 136 years ago, in 1885, when Karl Benz invented the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the world’s first-ever production automobile. However, cars only began worldwide production in the early 20th century, and even just a century ago, you[…]

The Innovation in Smartphones and Mobile Gaming

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The invention of smartphones transformed the world, making it possible to do things never thought possible. Today, smartphones do more than just calling and sending messages. They offer users an easy way to create, access, send, and receive data on the go, whether online or offline. Gone are the days you need a console or[…]

Are We Becoming Slaves to Technology and Social Media?

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Are human beings increasingly becoming slaves to technology and social media? Answering this question can be a tad challenging since there cannot be any one definitive answer to the same. Technology has enhanced our lives at many different levels. It has uplifted the quality of lives and made formerly difficult-to-access things more accessible to us.[…]

Business Leaders Discuss Digital Marketing in 2021

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Who still needs convincing that digital marketing is the way of the future? Surprisingly, many companies are holding out and keeping their digital marketing budgets to a minimum, even with so much evidence to the contrary. It’s time to take a top-to-bottom look at why digital marketing is so important, and what businesses can do[…]

Tower Mills since the Thirteenth Century

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It represented a modification or a demonstration of improving and adapting technology that had been known by humans for ages. Introduction A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden ‘cap’ or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.[1][2][3][4][5][…]

Windmills and Their Technology since the Middle Ages

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Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern periods. Introduction A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines and other applications. The term wind engine is[…]

Keeping Warm in Ancient Rome

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Hot drinks and early bedtimes were key to a comfortable winter. Images of Italy and the Mediterranean generally include bright sun shining on sparkling water and dusty groves of olive trees. In fact, according to Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, who wrote a 10-volume treatise on architecture in the first century, “Divine providence has so ordered it that[…]

Common Technology Problems and How to Fix Them

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Experts predict that AI will generate $2.9 trillion worth of business during 2021. This is a remarkable statistic by any standards. It’s especially noteworthy considering that AI was an impossibly advanced concept less than ten years ago. This is just one example of how quickly technology has grown and how it permeates our daily existence.[…]

The Rise of Fingerprint Technology in the 19th Century and Resulting Myths

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In the 19th-century, society began to grapple with an emerging problem: How do you prove people are who they say they are? By Clive ThompsonScience and Technology Journalist At 9:00 a.m. last December 14 [2018], a man in Orange County, California, discovered he’d been robbed. Someone had swiped his Volkswagen Golf, his MacBook Air and[…]

What to Do if Your Social Security Number is Stolen

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Of all the data to which a hacker can gain access, your Social Security number is one of the most problematic. The havoc they can wreak upon your life with those nine digits in hand is limited only by the scope of the usurper’s imagination. Sadly, security breaches in which this information is being compromised[…]

The Steampunk Doctor: Practicing Medicine in a Victorian Mechanical Age

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Steampunk examines the consequences extraordinary medical discoveries can have on both individuals and societies. Abstract Influenced by both 19th-century literature and popular representations of science, the figure of the medical doctor in steampunk fiction is marked by ambiguity. At the same time a scientist, a wizard and a mechanic, the steampunk doctor exists halfway between[…]

Gamecube ISOs As Your Chance to Play Classic Games on Modern Computers

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Though the modern video gaming industry is constantly involved in the development and marketing of video games, sometimes, we want to go back to childhood and play some games we played as kids. We all remember a well-known gaming console that hit the market 19 years ago – the Nintendo GameCube Console. Fantastic gameplay, real[…]

Download GameCube Isos – Enjoy Classic Games on Your Device

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The modern gaming industry is exceptionally engaging. You can play an awful lot of incredible games right from your mobile device being anywhere in the world. All these games have high-quality graphics, immersive sound effects and lots of other benefits that help you forget about your reality and dive into the adventures with your virtual[…]

Discoveries and Inventions in Ancient and Medieval China

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Exploring discoveries and inventions made by the Chinese between about 200 and 1400 C.E. Introduction Over the centuries, Chinese scholars and scientists studied engineering, mathematics, science, and medicine, among other subjects. Their studies led to scientific and technological progress that was often far ahead of advances in the rest of the world. To understand the[…]

How Mobile Gaming Has Changed Over Time

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Mobile gaming is an enormously popular sector of the video games industry, making up almost half of the industry’s total worldwide revenue, which is on course to exceed $200 billion in the next few years! Mobile gaming has brought gaming to a whole new audience, with millions of people worldwide playing games such as Candy[…]

Eels and Feels: A Strange Fetish with ‘Electric’ Animals in the 18th Century

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For Georgian Londoners, the allure of electric animals was both intellectual and sensual. By Ruth Garde / 04.06.2017 Curator, Creative Producer, Writer For Georgian Londoners, the allure of electric animals was both intellectual and sensual. By the time James Munro wrote these words, scientific investigations into the electrical properties of torpedo fish and electric eels had been[…]

Thunderbolts and Lightning: A History of Discovery and Research in Electricity

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Fire in the sky has always exerted a powerful hold on our imagination, even as early scientists started unlocking the secrets of atmospheric electricity. By Ruth Garde / 03.29.2017 Curator, Creative Producer, Writer It might come as no surprise that Michael Faraday, one of the most influential scientists in the history of electricity, would give[…]

The Power of Death and Resurrection with Electricity in the 19th Century

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In the 19th century, electricity held life in the balance, with the power to execute – or reanimate. By Ruth Garde / 04.20.2017 Curator, Creative Producer, Writer The devastating power of electricity gave good cause for the unease and fear it evoked. And yet the risk of lethal injury was what made it so fascinating and its[…]

Charged Bodies: Experiments with Electricity and the Human Body in the 18th Century

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Electrified humans brought education and performance together with a spark in the 18th century. By Ruth Garde / 04.12.2017 Curator, Creative Producer, Writer Eels had become unwitting performers in demonstrations of natural electricity after the 1770s, but the human body had been an indispensable element in public displays of artificial electricity since the 1730s. Enthusiasm for such[…]

Technologies of Medieval Towns and Trade

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Medieval townsfolk needed very different sorts of technologies than did rural farmers, and they eagerly adopted tools of all sorts when they became available. By Dr. Hans Peter Broedel Graduate Director, Associate Professor of History University of North Dakota Together with generally good weather and the rapid clearing of arable land, the new modes of[…]

The History of Computing: Both Evolution and Revolution

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CSIRAC was originally built in Sydney by the CSIRO before being transferred to Melbourne University. Melbourne University, Author provided Looking at the changes that have been made in computing and other areas in the past 60 years. By Justin Zobel / 05.31.2016 Head, Department of Computing and Information Systems University of Melbourne It is a[…]