The origin of engineering goes back to the very beginning of human civilization when tools from stones and bones were first created. Products and processes that enhance the joy of living remain a top priority of engineering innovation, since the day of the taming of fire (prehistoric time) and the invention of wheel (medieval period).
From the metallurgists (who ended the Stone Age) to the aircraft builders (who brought the people of the world closer), the past witnessed many marvels of engineering prowess. A comprehensive review of the vast field of modern engineering technology since the 19th century is presented with an outlook for the future.
Defining Engineering Technology
A look at our mundane household requirements such as internet, printer, telephone, home entertainment, etc, would reveal very little that is truly “natural”, and not created by engineering technology. Present day engineering technology is devoted to the implementation and extension of existing technology for the benefit of humanity. Engineering technology is based upon similar knowledge as engineering, but focuses mainly on manufacture and field service.
Engineering Timeline
The concept of engineering since medieval times with the inventions of pulley, lever and wheel is consistent with the modern definition of engineering. The history of modern engineering in the last two hundred years can be grouped into two overlapping phases :
- The Industrial Revolution of the 18th continued through the 19th century up until the first half of the 20th century when electricity, telecommunications, cars and airplanes were developed, and
- The development of information technology in the post World War ll period via combination of microelectronics, computers and telecommunications.
Modern Engineering Technology (up to the beginning of 21st century)
Technology is striding forward at such a fast pace in the last 200 years that what is considered a marvellous novelty turns into a mundane common object as the world goes for the next level of modern thing.
19th Century
The invention of useable electricity, steel and petroleum products during the19th century lead to improved communication and growth of railways and steam ships. The best inventions of 19th century engineering technology can be classified as
- Steam-powered ships, trains and cars and internal combustion engines (transportation)
- Telephone, telegraph, radio and television (communication)
- Electric motor, incandescent light bulb (harnessing electricity)
- Rifles, Colt revolver, machine guns and silencers (firearms), and
- Skyscrapers and large cities (construction).
20th Century
The late 20th century is undoubtedly the Age of Technology rivalling the Industrial Revolution in its impact on civilization. The wide-spread distribution of electricity and clean water, car and airplanes, radio and TV, spacecraft and lasers, antibiotics and medical imaging, computers, cell phones and Internet are some of the features which improved the standard of human life in the 20th century. Computers were improved by utilizing miniaturized transistors and integrated circuits.
Outer space was explored with satellite which was later used for telecommunication. By the middle of 20th century, humans had enough mastery of technology to be able to leave the Earth for the first time and explore space (man landing on the moon in1969). With so many new developments and discoveries, it is hard to narrow down to a few. However, the following items among a plethora of inventions are singled out as important engineering inventions in the 20th Century :
- Internet (1960-1970), Modern Internet (1990- 2000)
- Personal Computer-Microprocessor (1971), Windows (1985)
- Lasers (1958) and Radio Space age (end of the 60s)
- Silicon single crystals grown for semiconductors (1960)
- Television (1950) HD TV
- Airplanes (1903)
- Fiber Optic(1955)
- Space Rocket (Explorer, 1958)
- Discovery of Nuclear fission which led to developing nuclear weapons and nuclear power
- Genetic Engineering which alters the traits of living organisms by manipulating information encoded in their DNA. It can increase crop yield or resistance to desease by producing new enzyme or protein, and
- Nanotechnology manipulates materials on a nanometre scale (one billionth of a metre), and is based on thorough control of the structure of matter to produce goods such as microprocessors, batteries, computer displays, paints and cosmetics of better quality at lower cost and a cleaner environment.
First Decade of the 21st Century
The main technology in the early 21st century is based on electronics such as Broadband Internet access. Other developments include:
- iPhone (2007) – an internet-enabled multimedia mobile phone with multi-touch screen and virtual keyboard. iPod (2010) – a portable digital media player which can play videos or audio files such as MP3
- Electric eyes – retinal implant (2009) – a microelectronic chip is developed for implanting into the patient’s eyeball (suffering from age-related macular degeneration and blindness). A pair of glasses equipped with a tiny camera will transmit information to that microchip which in turn will pass along recognisable visual information to the human brain to allow the patient to recognise objects, and
- Sixth sense(2010) – a wearable gestural computer interface that lets hand gestures interact with digital information. It comprises of a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera which allows one to interact with objects in a way never before possible. Still a prototype, but provides a real possibility of taking a picture simply by framing scenery with hands.
Future Outlook
No one knows for certain what lies ahead since it is virtually impossible to predict future inventions. Tomorrow’s world is undoubtedly going to be very much different from today’s. For example, no one could have predicted five hundred years ago that we will be now flying around in planes.
Based on today’s evidence, one can figure out what is coming next and what effect it will have. Some examples are expressed below :
- Developing affordable solar energy technology that would convert and store the power of sunshine at a cost compatible with fossil fuels.
- Providing energy for commercial power generation with controlled but sustained nuclear fusion.
- Reverse-engineering of the brain to unlock the secrets of brain function, heal human diseases and advance the field of computerized artificial intelligence which in turn should enable automated diagnosis and prescriptions for treatment.
- Securing cyberspace by protecting the global infrastructure from identity theft, viruses, etc.
- Enhancing virtual reality by creating imaginative environments for education and entertainment using computer technology.
- NASA’s future space missions include communicating data from a spacecraft with lasers instead of current use of radio waves, and developing atomic clock based on a mercury atom for testing ultra-precise timing in deep space.
- Progressing genetic engineering with genetically modified plants, animals and micro-organisms and genetic medicine.
- Developing nanotechnology that would combine engineering principles with known scientific facts for future technological possibilities for biomedical applications and manufacturing goods from nearly flawless, superstrong materials at low cost, and
- Technological development to manufacture metamaterials on a dimension smaller than the nanometer wavelength of light so that light would be blocked to create cloaking devices invisible to the naked eye or radar (useful in military applications).
Bioprinting, virtual reality and quantum computing are some of the other prospective technologies of the future.
Final Comments
Since ancient time, technology has been used to change the world by altering the manner of our existence with improved quality of life. For the future, information technology is expected to continue changing the ways we work, learn, and interact with each other.
Modern engineers are being viewed as capable of analyzing today’s problems, developing tomorrow’s solutions, and fixing yesterday’s errors. In the 21st Century, one can look forward to exciting technological possibilities that lie ahead.
Sources
- Materials and Technology : Past Period - Part 1
- Materials development : Present Time and Future - Part 2
- The Field of Engineering Technology
- Science and Technology on Fast Forward
- Grand Challenges for Engineering
- NASA's Future Science Space Missions
Benu Chatterjee - Graduated in both science (Chemistry) and engineering (Metallurgy), I also gained a PhD in Metallurgy. Based on my academic qualifications ...
