The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.
3
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2answers
63 views
Printing - When did advertisements in colour became commonplace?
I wonder when colourful advertisements became commonplace in print (such as magazines or occasionally newspapers). I can imagine that colourful printing was far more expensive - so at what point did ...
4
votes
2answers
74 views
Did the break up of AT & T in 1984 lead to technological innovation?
Are there examples of technologies developed since 1984 that would not have been likely to be developed had the Bell system stayed intact rather than being broken up by the US government?
UPDT: To ...
8
votes
3answers
185 views
Did Heisenberg undermine the German atomic bomb by deliberately hiding his expertise from the Nazis?
Source.
In his massive book Heisenberg's War: The Secret History of the German Bomb, Thomas Powers says that Heisenberg, who never became a Nazi and balked at the immorality of building a bomb for ...
1
vote
0answers
21 views
Skis for water were tried in the German troops as sort of ski-yaks, is there more information?
During WW2 the German Army experimented with a sort of floating set of skis for water. In essence a kayak for each foot and a pole with a paddle on either end for balance and propulsion. (I have tried ...
2
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1answer
51 views
Who is responsible for the oldest known calendar?
What is the oldest known calendar? Where exactly was it developed? Who was responsible for its creation?
3
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0answers
87 views
Harvard Architecture: How did Harvard Mark I separate data and instruction?
How did Harvard Mark I separate data and instruction?
I have read the article in Wikipedia but I didn't understand how data and instruction was separated using a punched paper tape. It said
...
2
votes
3answers
127 views
Were China's problems in the past two centuries due to “missing out” on the industrial age?
Until the industrial revolution, China was (mostly) an "advanced" or at least "state of the art" country. That is, until it fell behind the West, starting in the late 18th century.
Recently, China ...
5
votes
1answer
68 views
Which floating-point representation did Konrad Zuse's Z1 use?
Wikipedia notes: "The Z1 was a 22-bit floating point value adder and subtracter".
But the specific format used is nowhere to be seen.
2
votes
1answer
81 views
Time of day first traffic light exploded
The first traffic light was installed in December 1868 at Bridge Street, Great George Street and Parliament Street in London. It exploded on 2 January 1869. What time of day did it explode?
6
votes
1answer
99 views
British way in construction of AFV
Why have British tanks not changed very much? The USA have moved from the VSS, VVSS, HVSS (Lee and Sherman) suspensions to the torsion bar suspension (T26 and Patton family), USSR - from twin bogies ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
What are the contributions of Professor Hans List?
Considering his academic titles, what are the contribution of the automotive engineer, Professor Dr Dr h.c.mult. Hans List? What did he invent? I could not find anything except a brief obituary.
7
votes
1answer
300 views
Samurai, Damascus, and Toledo Steel
Has a comparison been made of the qualities of Samurai (Tamahagane), Damascus and Toledo steel (rather than the swords)? I've seen claims for each being better than the others.
If it's on topic, I'm ...
13
votes
1answer
238 views
How did the monks whose job was to copy books react to Gutenberg's printing press?
It's typical to see people whose job it is to perform a manual task to - collectively - object when a new technology is introduced which makes their job obsolete (as the quintessential example, see ...
0
votes
2answers
215 views
What factors contribute to the fact that only a handful of countries manufacture aircraft jet engines? [closed]
The USA (GE, Pratt & Whitney), Russia (NPO Saturn, Klimov), France (Snecma) and the UK (Rolls Royce) are the only countries that have aircraft jet engine manufacturers. What factors might ...
7
votes
2answers
135 views
How is the photography printing on newpaper is possible in the WW2 era?
How is the photography printing on newpaper is possible in the WW2 era?
For example, how is the photo on the newpaper at the below link is possible especially on HD quality?
...
2
votes
4answers
283 views
What went wrong with India's scientific development as a society?
India had been among the "leaders" in scientific research spanning Mathematics, Medicine, Chemistry and others.
...
2
votes
4answers
479 views
When Did Commerical Studio Photography Become Common?
I was looking at this Wikipedia article, History of photography, and I wondered when commercial photography studios became common place and affordable for the average person.
According to the ...
4
votes
1answer
82 views
Explosive Ordinance Yield Over History
I'm writing an essay, and one of the elements of it has to do with the development of military technology throughout history. I've noticed that there is a quickly increasing and disturbing trend in ...
7
votes
2answers
425 views
Did the Chinese Develop Steam Engines Prior to the 17th Century?
I vaguely remember seeing a documentary on the history channel that was discussion on ancient Chinese technology. The basic theme of the program was that China developed many industrial technologies ...
2
votes
1answer
96 views
What differences led to Technicolor becoming the dominant color filming technology in Hollywood?
Apparently another technology, Kinemacolor, was invented first in the UK, but it never caught on in Hollywood. Kinemacolor was expensive, and had some other glitches involved, but the fact that it was ...
30
votes
7answers
746 views
History of scientific regression
Throughout history, humans have made many subtle and many substantial scientific advancements. Humans have explored, examined, learned, applied and at times seemingly "forgotten" and/or were unable ...
6
votes
2answers
190 views
What Was the State of German Tank Design In Between the World Wars?
I am reading about the Spanish Civil War in a book by Antony Beevor entitled "The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939". According to Beevor while the nationalists were able to control ...
8
votes
4answers
254 views
Is there any evidence to support the claim that the US Strategic Defense Initiative played any significant role in undermining the USSR?
I have been reading Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson, and one of the things that stuck me was a quote by Soviet hydrogen bomb creator Andrei Sakharov who was released from political imprisonment ...
8
votes
5answers
269 views
Intersection Between Computer Science and History?
I am a computer science undergrad with a great interest in history. Lately I have been asking myself if there are general aspects or specialties of computer science which lend themselves to the study ...
7
votes
2answers
175 views
What role did the media have in the outcome of the “Arab Spring” revolt in Tunisia
What was the role of the media in the outcome of the revolution in Tunisia?
Throughout the revolution we saw the role of the media was extremely important, what was the role of the media during the ...
19
votes
2answers
357 views
When and where did socks become common?
To be clear, I mean the socks you wear on your feet, to insulate you form your shoes/boots/other footwear.
By common, I mean easily available to the masses, rather than just to the rich.
25
votes
2answers
376 views
How accurate or supported is Jared Diamond's “Guns, Germs, and Steel”?
Jared Diamond wrote a fascinating book that purports to explain, in a very broad way, the development of civilization. It has several explanations for the development of Eurasian civilization rather ...
2
votes
0answers
33 views
Is there any research on specific details of ancient/medieval blacksmithing related to microelements added via plants?
I have seen the following claim a couple of times before (all in Russian popular science type sources). However, I was never able to find historical OR scientific/technology research directly backing ...
12
votes
2answers
757 views
To what extent did Native American cultures develop metalworking for tools and weapons?
When Europeans started showing up in the New World, the native cultures were technologically far behind. Many still used stone tools: North American tribes used flint, while some Mesoamerican cultures ...
12
votes
5answers
520 views
Is there any evidence that the catholic church reduced innovation during the middle ages?
I often hear that the rate of innovation was very high during ancient times in Greece and the Roman empire. I've also heard that the rate of innovation was reduced once the Catholic Church gained ...
10
votes
1answer
157 views
How accurate and detailed were geographical maps created and updated by the Romans?
Knowledge is power, and having superior geographical knowledge vs. your imperialistic enemies and competitors was probably a big advantage in the middle ages. Some specific examples would be knowledge ...
8
votes
3answers
404 views
When was the earliest recorded battle with the usage of gunpowder as an offensive weapon?
When was the earliest recorded battle (on script) with the usage of gunpowder (in any form) as an offensive weapon?
26
votes
7answers
1k views
When were swords last used in European warfare?
Specifically, I'm interested in the last documented occurrence of swords (of any sort) being used as a primary weapon by infantrymen or cavalrymen in Western warfare. That is, when did any European or ...
14
votes
5answers
332 views
What was “Greek fire”?
What was Greek fire?
I read in my history book that it was a flamethrower. But in certain fantasy movies it's been portrayed as something similar to dynamite. What was it dynamite or what? Did it ...
9
votes
4answers
481 views
What new technology/tactics allowed the breakthrough of the trenches in WW I western front?
Reading the answers to this question about WW1 Western Front, it appears that breaking through the trenches was a very difficult task to do. How did the Allies finally make it? Was it the invention of ...
24
votes
5answers
594 views
What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
Assuming they started at the same point (maybe the split of the continents or the migration of the first "Native Americans" to the American continent), why did the Old World end up developing faster? ...
14
votes
2answers
716 views
When did steel first appear? [closed]
When in history do we first have record of steel being used as a material? I am also interested in both its initial purpose and when it was first used in weapon making.
