The Norton history of technology / Donald Cardwell.
Record details
- ISBN: 0393311929 (pbk) :
- ISBN: 0393311929 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 9780393311921 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 0393036529
- ISBN: 9780393036527
- Physical Description: xviii, 565 p., 8 p. of plates : ill. ; 21 cm.
- Edition: 1st American ed.
- Publisher: New York : Norton, 1994, c1995.
Content descriptions
General Note: | Originally published in England under title: Fontana history of technology. |
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Clockwork and Christianity -- The Industrial Revolution -- Power without wheels. pt. I. Clockwork and Christianity. Introduction -- Gears from the Greeks -- New worlds and an information revolution -- The scientific revolution -- pt. II. The Industrial Revolution. Reason and improvement -- Progress in practice -- The birth of the factory -- Technology becomes autonomous: the logic of improvement -- Napoleonic Europe -- Roads, railroads and a new philosophy of power -- The public face of technology: artistry and intelligence -- pt. III. Power without wheels. Progress at the flood -- Three decades of innovation -- A second industrial revolution -- The century of wars -- Paradigm cases -- Foreshadowing the future: big technology -- Technology and the individual: little technology -- Notes towards a philosophy of technology. pt. I. Clockwork and Christianity. Introduction: A survey of early technics -- Gears from the Greeks: The dominance of Greece ; Technics in antiquity ; The question of slavery ; Technology moves west and north ; The weight-driven clock -- New worlds and an information revolution: Technology and understanding -- The scientific revolution: The importance of Galileo ; the rise of Western Europe -- pt. II. The Industrial Revolution. Reason and improvement: The foundation of power technology ; The first working steam engine ; Other considerations -- Progress in practice: The textile industry ; The iron industry -- The birth of the factory: James Watt and his colleagues ; Structures -- Technology becomes autonomous : the logic of improvement -- Napoleonic Europe: A new form of electricity -- Roads, railroads and a new philosophy of power: A new technology and a new science ; The perfection of water power ; The beginnings of electrotechnology -- The public face of technology : artistry and intelligence: Progress in shipbuilding ; Civil engineering and agriculture ; Some social considerations -- pt. III. Power without wheels. Progress at the flood: International exhibitions and international comparisons ; Water power in the United States ; A new form of chemical industry -- Three decades of innovation: Science and the steam engine ; The invention of the dynamo ; The energy question ; Science, technology and medicine -- A second industrial revolution: New sources of power ; The rise of the electrical supply industry ; The efficiency of heat engines -- The century of wars: A revolution in transport ; The origins of electronic communications ; The importance of the electron ; The first airplanes ; The impact of war -- Paradigm cases: Civil aviation ; The jet engine ; New materials from chemistry ; Computers -- Foreshadowing the future : big technology: Atoms and power -- Technology and the individual : little technology: The transmission of technology ; Domestic technology ; The origins of the modern computer -- Notes towards a philosophy of technology: Summary ; The procedures of technology ; In defense of heroes ; Factors in the progress of technology ; The public perception of technology ; Technology in the world. |
Summary, etc.: | "'Humans are tool-makers ... and the first record of humankind is that of their tools, ' Donald Cardwell writes in this absorbing history of technology from prehistory to the present, from stone implements, the wheel, and the first geared machines to the transistor and the supercomputer. With a keen eye for the insight that marks a breakthrough in human problem-solving and a wide-ranging sympathy for its social and cultural contexts, Cardwell chronicles how human curiosity and inventiveness slowly led to the first tools and machines; how technological progress accelerated over time, as major breakthroughs released floods of further inventions; the close links between 'pure' science and technology; and the human factors - personal and social - that help or hinder technological change. Casting fresh light on every aspect of technology, Cardwell also challenges us to consider such issues as the influence on technology of different religions and cultural practices, including a society's level of political freedom; the role of market forces; the comparative technological advantages of nations as disparate as Japan and the United States; and the potential that women hold as the greatest remaining untapped resource for invention and innovation. As accessible and engaging as it is informative, this book will reward anyone curious about the tools humanity has devised to transform its place in the world."--Jacket. |
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Subject: | Technology > History. |
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
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Killingly Library | 609 Car (Text) | 34040143558902 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |