Historical Development of Science and Technology

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the historical development of science and technology from ancient times to the 20th century.

Scientia

The Latin word meaning knowledge, from which the word 'science' is derived.

Science

A systematic, organized knowledge that investigates nature, shaped by social forces and historical change.

Techne

A word meaning art, craft, or skill, serving as one of the roots for the word 'technology'.

Logos

A word meaning 'word', serving as one of the roots for the word 'technology'.

Technology

A system of skills, techniques, processes, and products of scientific concepts used for humanity's useful purposes.

Society (Sociology definition)

People who interact to share a common culture.

Society (Geography definition)

People who share a common culture in a particular location.

Sumerian Civilization

A civilization that emerged in 3,500 BC in the southern region of Mesopotamia, considered the cradle of civilization.

Sumerian Irrigation Systems

Dikes and canals constructed by Sumerians to control flooding for agriculture.

Cuneiform

The first formal writing system, developed by the Sumerian civilization.

Sumerian Bronze

A material forged from copper and tin around 3,000 BC for tools and weapons.

Sexagesimal number system

The basis for sixty minutes to an hour and measuring a circle with 360 degrees.

Babylonian Civilization

A civilization positioned on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Iraq from about 3,500 BC until 500 BC.

Babylonian Calendar

A system with alternating 29 and 30-day months requiring an extra month three times every eight years.

Babylonian Astronomy

A talent for observing heavenly bodies and compiling lists of planets and stars to forecast terrestrial events.

Egyptian Civilization

A civilization situated in Northeastern Africa that began between 5,000 and 3,100 BC.

Nile River

A river that provided ancient Egypt with necessary water to support agricultural activities.

Egyptian 365-day calendar

A calendar system devised by ancient Egyptians.

Hieroglyphics

An ancient form of writing created by the Egyptians using symbols.

Rosetta Stone

An ancient artifact that helps decode and understand the meanings of Hieroglyphics.

Greek Civilization

A civilization emerging around 1,100 BC that replaced supernatural beliefs with the concept of a universe governed by natural laws.

Pythagoras

A Greek figure who studied geometry and discovered the Pythagorean Theorem.

Euclid

The author of the book entitled Elements, which focuses on geometry.

Aristotle

The author of History of Animals, which listed observations about animals.

Hippocrates

Known as the 'Father of Western Medicine'.

Greek Watermill

An invention powered by water using a waterwheel and toothed gear to capacitate grinding.

Plato's Alarm Clock

A water clock used to trigger a sound at a specific time.

Greek Central Heating

A system to transfer hot air from fires to empty spaces under the floors of temples.

Archimedes' Screw

A device invented by Archimedes as an efficient way to move water up a hill.

Roman Civilization

A civilization spanning from 102 – 44 B.C. known for sophisticated infrastructure and written news.

Acta diurnal

A Roman publication translates to 'Daily events' used to circulate written news.

Acta Senatus

A Roman publication that recorded the proceedings in the Roman senate.

Shula Sutras

An Indian work from 1500–1000 BCE explaining geometrical operations for altar construction, including square roots.

Hindu science achievement

The development of numbers and decimal notation used globally today.

Chinese Inventions

Includes Gunpowder, paper, woodblock printing, and the compass.

South-pointing needle

The name given to the compass in Chinese civilization.

Seismograph

Known in China as an 'earthquake weather clock'.

Middle Ages

Also called the Medieval Era or Dark Ages, dating roughly 1,000 years from before 500 A.D to 1450 A.D.

Feudalism

A form of government in the Middle Ages involving a hierarchy from Kings to Peasants.

Vassals

Tenants who served as guards and later paid fees to acquire mercenaries.

Serfs

The poorest peasant class treated as slaves who needed the Lord's approval to relocate.

Blacksmith

A metalsmith who worked in 'black' metal, namely iron.

Counterweight trebuchet

A 12th-century mechanical artillery piece using counterweights to throw large stones.

Heavy plow

A tool from the 5th - 8th century used to cultivate rich, fatty, wet North Europe soils.

Artesian well

A well named for Artois, France, where Carthusian monks drilled the first one in 1126.

Hourglass

A dependable 1338 measurement of time documented in Siena, Italy.

Vertical windmills

A 1180s European invention used for grinding grain or draining water.

Spectacles

Developed in Florence, Italy in the 1280s using convex lenses for far-sightedness.

Quarantine

A 40-day period introduced by the Republic of Ragusa in 1377 to prevent disease spread.

Alchemy

An early form of chemistry where practitioners believed they could transmute metals and find the elixir of life.

Philosophers' Stone

A legendary alchemical substance capable of turning metals into precious ores and achieving immortality.

Johannes Gutenberg

A citizen of Mainz who invented the printing press prototype in 1450.

Gregorian Calendar

The established civil calendar resulting from a reform in the Christian calendar.

Al-Battani

A prominent mind who improved the measurement of the Earth's axis precision.

Ibn al-Haytham

A Muslim physicist, also known as Alhazen, considered the father of modern optics.

Al-Kindi

Author of 'De Gradibus' who applied mathematics to medicine and pharmacology.

Al-Khwarizmi

The mathematician who gave his name to the concept of the algorithm and recognized algebra as a distinct field.

Al-Jabr

The written work by Al-Khwarizmi from which the term 'algebra' is derived.

The Black Death

A 1348 plague that killed a third of Europe's population and ended scientific change in the Late Middle Ages.

Renaissance

A period between the 15th and 17th centuries viewed as a rebirth and preparation for modern science.

Heliocentric theory

The theory presented by Nicolaus Copernicus stating the Sun is the center of the solar system.

Galileo Galilei

Adjusted the telescope and invented the thermometer in 1593.

Industrial Revolution

The 18th-century transformation involving machine processes, steam engines, and the factory system.

James Watt

The Scottish inventor who refined the steam engine, starting the Industrial Revolution.

Samuel Morse

The inventor of the telegraph and the Morse Code.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor of the telephone.

John Tyndall

A scientist who demonstrated the principles of fiber optics.

Guglielmo Marconi

The person who proved the feasibility of radio communication.

Count Alessandro Volta

The inventor of the battery.

Michael Faraday

The inventor of the dynamo.

Charles Babbage

The inventor of the mechanical calculator.

Louis Pasteur

The inventor of the process of pasteurization.

Alfred Nobel

The inventor of the dynamite.

Willis Carrier

The inventor of the air conditioner.

Theory of Relativity

A 20th-century publication by Albert Einstein known for the equation $E=mc^2$.

Alexander Fleming

The Scottish biologist who discovered penicillin.

Nuclear fission

Research in the 1930s that led to the atomic bomb and nuclear electricity generation.

Microprocessor

A 1971 development that made computers smaller, easier to use, and more affordable.

World Wide Web

An digital innovation that saw its advent in 1989.

Artificial intelligence

A field of research born at Dartmouth College in 1956.