Portal:Technology
The Technology Portal
Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering, and everyday life.
Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistoric times, followed by the control of fire, which contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age. 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...)
Recognized articles -
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
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Kilburn is a London Underground station near Brondesbury Park in north-west London. It is on the Jubilee line, between Willesden Green and West Hampstead stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is on the A5 Kilburn High Road or Shoot-up Hill, approximately 0.1 miles (0.16 km) north of Brondesbury station. Metropolitan line trains typically bypass the station without stopping.
The station was first opened on the Metropolitan line in 1879 as part of an extension to Willesden Green. The two-track line through the station was quadrupled in the 1910s. After merging to form the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933, Metropolitan line services through the station were transferred to the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line, and the station was extensively rebuilt. This branch was then transferred again to the Jubilee line in 1979. The 1930s station building remains, and was refurbished in 2005. The station is now wheelchair accessible and has frequent train services to Central London. (Full article...) -
The Portway running alongside the Avon Gorge
The Portway is a major road in the City of Bristol. It is part of the A4 and connects Bristol City Centre to the Avonmouth Docks and the M5 motorway via the Avon Gorge.
The road was constructed following World War I in order to provide improved access to the ports at Avonmouth Docks, which had replaced Bristol Harbour as the major local centre for commercial shipping. Upon opening on 2 July 1926, it was the single most expensive road project in Britain, costing £800,000 (now about £59 million). The construction posed a number of significant engineering challenges, including long and deep rock cuttings, a viaduct over the River Trym, and retaining walls against the gorge adjacent to the River Avon. Falling rocks have since been a problem along the Portway, particularly at the southern end close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, with concrete canopies constructed to prevent loose rock and assist with remedial work. (Full article...) -
Bellingham Square station (formerly Chelsea station) is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) station located near Bellingham Square slightly north of downtown Chelsea, Massachusetts. The station has two accessible side platforms for buses on the SL3 route. The Boston and Maine Railroad and predecessor Eastern Railroad served Chelsea station at the same location from the mid-1850s to 1958. The MBTA opened Chelsea station on the Newburyport/Rockport Line in 1985. Prior to its 2010 cancellation, the Urban Ring Project planned for a circumferential BRT line with a stop at Mystic Mall. Planning continued for the Chelsea segment; a Silver Line extension to Mystic Mall was announced in 2013. Construction began in 2015, and SL3 service to the renamed Bellingham Square station began on April 21, 2018. Commuter rail service moved to the newly constructed Chelsea station on November 15, 2021. (Full article...)
NSB Di 3 is a class of 35 diesel-electric locomotives built by NOHAB for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The class was built between 1954 and 1969, and delivered in two series, Di 3a and Di 3b. They are based on the Electro-Motive Division F7 and are equipped with EMD 567 engines. They have a distinct bulldog nose and were numbered 602–633 (a-series) and 641–643 (b-series). The locomotives had a prime mover that gives a power output of 1,305 kilowatts (1,750 hp). The a-series has a Co′Co′ wheel arrangement, while the b-series has (A1A)(A1A). The b-series has higher top speed, but lower tractive effort.
The class was the dominant locomotive on NSB's unelectrified lines. It was ordered as part of the company's dieselization of services during the 1950s and 1960s, and was initially used on the three mainline routes of the Bergen, Dovre and Nordland Lines. In the 1960s the Bergen and Dovre Lines were electrified and the Di 3 units transferred to smaller lines, such as the Meråker, Valdres, Røros, Solør and Rauma Lines. They remained in service with NSB until 2001, five years later than planned due to NSB returning their successor, the Di 6. The units are still in use by the private operator Ofotbanen, the Kosovo Railways, an operator in Sicily, and the Norwegian Railway Museum. The class is similar to the DSB Class MY, NMBS Class 52–54, CFL Class 1600 and MÁV M61. (Full article...)
Burlington Union Station is a train station and office building located in downtown Burlington, Vermont, United States. It is the northern terminal of the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express service. A single side platform on the west side of the station serves Vermont Railway excursion trains and Amtrak trains. The symmetrical Beaux Arts building, built of buff brick with limestone and granite trim, has a central pilaster over two entrances. The main building is divided for use by a variety of tenants.
Rail service to Burlington began in December 1849 with the completion of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad (which later became the Rutland Railroad) and the Vermont Central Railroad (VC). The VC replaced its original station by 1853; it constructed a new line into Burlington in 1861, with a temporary station on the waterfront. It built a permanent station with an arched trainshed in 1866–67. This became a union station in 1871 when the VC leased the Rutland. After local advocacy for a new station, an expansion was built in 1895–96. The Rutland became independent again in 1898 and soon constructed an extension northwards from Burlington. (Full article...)
The Doughnut is the nickname given (due to its resemblance to a doughnut) to the headquarters of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a British cryptography and intelligence agency. It is located on a 71 hectares (176 acres) site in Benhall, in the suburbs of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in South West England. The Doughnut accommodates 5,500 employees; GCHQ is the largest single employer in Gloucestershire. Built to modernise and consolidate GCHQ's multiple buildings in Cheltenham, the Doughnut was completed in 2003, with GCHQ staff moving in the same year, and fully moved into the building in 2004. It is the largest building constructed for secret intelligence operations outside the United States.
The Doughnut was too small for the number of staff at its completion, and a second building in a secret and undisclosed location in the 'Gloucestershire area' now also accommodates staff from GCHQ. The Doughnut is surrounded by car and bicycle parking in concentric rings, and is well protected by security fencing, guards, and CCTV systems. (Full article...)
New York State Route 10 (NY 10) is a north–south state highway in the Central New York and North Country regions of New York in the United States. It extends for 155 miles (249 km) from the Quickway (NY 17) (Future Interstate 86) in Deposit, Delaware County to NY 8 at Higgins Bay, a hamlet in the Hamilton County town of Arietta. NY 10 begins concurrent with NY 8. While NY 8 follows a more westerly alignment between Deposit and Higgins Bay via Utica, NY 10 veers to the east, serving Delhi, Cobleskill, and Canajoharie. Along the way, the road intersects Interstate 88 (I-88) near Cobleskill and U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Sharon Springs.
NY 10 was assigned in 1924; however, it initially followed a completely different alignment than it does today. At the time, it began at the New Jersey state line in Rockland County and followed modern US 9W north to Albany. From here, it continued to Saranac Lake via Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Chestertown, North Creek, Long Lake, and Tupper Lake. It was extended northeast to Plattsburgh by 1926 but truncated to Schenectady in 1927. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, all of NY 10 south of Long Lake and north of Lake Clear Junction was moved onto a new, more westerly alignment through the state. The route was cut back to its current northern terminus in Arietta c. 1960. (Full article...)
NY 10 was assigned in 1924; however, it initially followed a completely different alignment than it does today. At the time, it began at the New Jersey state line in Rockland County and followed modern US 9W north to Albany. From here, it continued to Saranac Lake via Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Chestertown, North Creek, Long Lake, and Tupper Lake. It was extended northeast to Plattsburgh by 1926 but truncated to Schenectady in 1927. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, all of NY 10 south of Long Lake and north of Lake Clear Junction was moved onto a new, more westerly alignment through the state. The route was cut back to its current northern terminus in Arietta c. 1960. (Full article...)
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Credit: Mike McGregorThe OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive subnotebook laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries. -
Credit: Berthold WernerA telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that converts sound, typically the human voice, into electronic signals suitable for transmission via cables or other transmission media over long distances through satellite. -
Photograph: NACAKitty Joyner (1916–1993) was an American electrical engineer with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and then the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She was hired in 1939 as the organization's first woman engineer, shortly after she had become the first woman to graduate from the University of Virginia's engineering program. -
Photo credit: Christian KuhnaThe rotor of a modern steam turbine , which converts steam (heat) energy into kinetic (mechanical) energy. The steam path is from the smallest blade, expanding through progressively larger blade elements. Steam turbines are used in power plants to extract mechanical work from pressurized steam and benefit from their high efficiency and high power-to-weight ratio compared to other technologies, leading to their widespread deployment from electricity generation to marine propulsion. -
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors suspended by towers or utility poles.
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Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech Ring is a 1943 painting by the British painter Laura Knight depicting a young woman, Ruby Loftus (1921–2004), working at an industrial lathe as part of the British war effort in World War II. The painting was commissioned by the War Artists' Advisory Committee, and is now part of the Imperial War Museum's art collection. The painting brought instant fame to Loftus, and has been likened to the American figure of "Rosie the Riveter". -
Photo: 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. -
Photo: Benh Lieu SongThe Eiffel Tower as seen from the Champ de Mars. At 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, the tower, an iron lattice tower, is the tallest building in Paris, the most-visited paid monument in the world, as well as one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, it was built as an entrance arch for the 1889 Exposition Universelle and has since become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France. -
A woman using a Hollerith pantograph, a machine developed by Herman Hollerith for the punching of cards, providing data which could then be processed. Such tools were used in the 1890 United States Census, the first time the country's census was tabulated by machine. -
Photograph: Diego DelsoThe Assut de l'Or Bridge is a white single-pylon cable-stayed bridge in the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain. Completed in 2008, it was designed by Valencian architect and civil engineer Santiago Calatrava as a variant of his cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge in Seville. -
Photograph: Uwe AranasA filling station in Sabah, Malaysia, operated by Royal Dutch Shell. Filling stations, also known under a wide variety of names, are facilities that sell fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. They include one or more fuel dispensers, which distribute fuels such as gasoline and diesel into the tanks within vehicles and calculate the financial cost of the fuel transferred. Filling stations may also include air compressors and electricity sockets, which may inflate tyres or offer charging stations. Many filling stations also incorporate a convenience store, where customers can purchase snacks and other goods. -
Animation: Mike1024The Geneva drive is a gear mechanism that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion. The rotating drive wheel has a pin that reaches into a slot of the driven wheel advancing it by one step. The drive wheel also has a raised circular blocking disc that locks the driven wheel in position between steps. Such a mechanism is used in film projectors, watches, and indexing tables, among others. -
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Photograph: ULPower Aero EnginesThe ULPower UL260i, a flat-four engine produced by ULPower Aero Engines of Belgium. Flat-four engines are flat engines with four cylinders arranged horizontally in two banks of two cylinders on each side of a central crankcase; they can be used in cars, motorcycles, or aircraft. This type of engine tends to be well-balanced and have efficient cooling, but is expensive to manufacture and considerably wider than other engines. -
A 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.
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Photo: 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. -
Photograph credit: Dllu
The N700 Series Shinkansen is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train with tilting capability developed jointly by JR Central and JR West. It has been used on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines since 2007. This photograph shows the train travelling at approximately 300 km/h through Himeji Station, and was captured with a line scan camera using strip photography. -
Photo credit: Michael ReevePitstone Windmill, believed to be the oldest windmill in the British Isles
A windmill is an engine powered by wind energy. In Europe, windmills have been used since the Middle Ages. They were developed from the 12th century, apparently from technology gained by crusaders who came into contact with windmills in the Middle East. Persian sources indicate windmill use as early as the 7th century BC. In the United States, the development of water-pumping windmills was a major factor in allowing the farming of vast areas of North America. -
Image credit: FastfissionSchematic representation of the two methods with which to assemble an atomic bomb. An A-bomb produces its explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. A mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method, shown on top here), or by compressing a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density (the "implosion" method, at bottom). -
Photo credit: Gretar ÍvarssonThe Nesjavellir geothermal power plant, located near Þingvellir, Iceland is the largest of five such plants in the country. Because of the high concentration of volcanoes in Iceland, geothermal energy is so inexpensive that in the wintertime, some pavements in Reykjavík and Akureyri are heated.
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