The History and Future of Technology : Can Technology Save Humanity from Extinction? /

Eminent physicist and economist, Robert Ayres, examines the history of technology as a change agent in society, focusing on societal roots rather than technology as an autonomous, self-perpetuating phenomenon. With rare exceptions, technology is developed in response to societal needs that have evol...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Ayres, Robert U. (Author)
Corporate Author:	SpringerLink (Online service)
Format:	eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer, 2021.
Edition:	1st ed. 2021.
Subjects:	Technology-History. Physics. Natural resources. History of Technology. Applied and Technical Physics. Natural Resource and Energy Economics. Electronic books.
Online Access:	Connect to the full text of this electronic book

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Fire and water: technologies extending nature
Chapter 3. Extensions of the body
Chapter 4. Words and music
Chapter 5. Printing, movable type and books
Chapter 6. The Enlightenment: the rise of science
Chapter 7. The first stage of industrialization: coking and canals (1712- 1820)
Chapter 8. Machine tools and mechanization
Chapter 9. The triumph of steam and steel (1820-1876)
Chapter 10. Petroleum and petrochemicals
Chapter 11. Anesthesia, surgery, and modern medicine
Chapter 12. Mobility: From rails to roads to space travel
Chapter 13. Electricity and electrification of factories and homes
Chapter 14. Communications: From carrier pigeons to telephones and radio (1876-1976)
Chapter 15. The history of artifiicial light
Chapter 16. Electronic broadcast media: radio and TV
Chapter 17. Photography and movies
Chapter 18. The transistor transition: 1945-1969
Chapter 19. Machine computation and digitization
Chapter 20. The Internet and the Worldwide Web
Chapter 21. The Eco-footprint of material wealth: pollution, climate change and epidemics
Chapter 22. Nuclear power
Chapter 23. Solar Power and renewables
Chapter 24. Scarce elements and scarce metals
Chapter 25. Food and agriculture
Chapter 26. Biotechnology and Human Health
Chapter 27. Can technology save Homo Sapiens from Extinction? Utopia 2120.