8 Different Types Of Technology In 2023
Technology is about more than just gadgets and gizmos. It has a very broad and deep definition.
The term “technology” comes from the Greek word “teckne” (which relates to art or craft) and “logia” (which relates to study). The combination of these two words, teknologia, means systematic treatment.
Over the past two centuries, the use of the term “technology” has changed significantly. By the 1940s, “technology” referred not only to the study of industrial arts, but it includes all machines, tools, instruments, weapons, communicating and transporting devices, as well as the skills by which humans build and use them.
More broadly, technology refers to tools, machines, and a collection of techniques that may be utilized to solve real-world problems. The tools and machines can be as simple as a nail pin or as complex as a particle accelerator or space saba sport login station. Also, they need not be physical; virtual technology, such as software and cloud services, fall under this definition of technology.
In a broader way, technology is a means to fulfill a human purpose.
Since technology can be so simple or extremely complex, it can be categorized into different groups. Below, we have explained all different types of technology with modern examples.
8. Materials Technology
Applications: Piezoelectric materials used in micro-thrusters for satellites, self-healing coatings used to protect metal products
Materials technology is a comprehensive discipline that involves choosing materials with properties that best meet the requirements of a target application. It may also include maintaining the performance of materials during the life of a machine by resisting fatigue, corrosion, and other damages.
Since different materials have different properties, blending multiple materials yields interesting characteristics, which lead to new applications.
Recent advances in materials technology provide extra functionalities leading to the term “smart materials,” which is characterized by their response to some external stimuli such as light, humidity, and temperatures. Several innovative materials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and piezoelectric materials, have been developed and tested successfully over the past decade.
Materials science and materials technology are closely related to each other. While the former covers the design and discovery of new materials (particularly solids), materials technology focuses more on techniques and tests to determine how to improve the product.
7. Mechanical Technology
Mechanical technology deals with the techniques of putting together mechanical parts and materials to build functional structures and control or transmit motion. For example, brakes on a bicycle, latch on a door, gear systems in a car transmission, etc.
Mechanical engineering technologists are expected to apply principles from product design, material sciences, and manufacturing processes to create useful products and production machinery. They primarily work as troubleshooters in the ongoing maintenance of machinery and automated equipment.
More specifically, their work involves analyzing stress, strain, shearing forces in structures, deflection due to bending, bearing, clutches, dynamics of a rigid body, motion, balancing of rotating masses, free vibrations, the flow of liquids, thermodynamic behavior of real fluids, and much more.
6. Medical Technology
Applications: Stethoscope, pacemakers, ventilators, computed tomography (CT) scanners, surgical robots
Medical technology is often defined as the application of science to build solutions to prevent disease, injury, or other health problems. This may include detecting diseases through advanced machines, methods to treat patients, and monitoring of good health.
In a broader sense, medical technology focuses on equipment, systems, facilities, and procedures (but not drugs). A medical device can be an apparatus, instrument, device, implant, reagent, or software.
From syringes and sphygmomanometers (a device for measuring blood pressure) to medical imaging technologies (like X-ray and MRI machines), medical machines can play a range of roles in diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment, and alleviation of disease.
5. Electronics Technology
Applications: Computers, smartphones, digital camera, RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging), power suppliers, multimeters, interactive Sensors
Electronics deals with everything the involves emission, flow, and control of electrons in vacuum and matter. An electronic component can be any physical entity (such as capacitor, resistors, inductors, diodes, and transistors) in a system that affects the electrons or their associated fields in a way consistent with the intended operation of the electronic system.
Electronics mainly comprises passive and active components, solid-state devices, operational amplifiers, audio and radio-frequency amplifiers, oscillators, frequency modulators, digital circuits, digital circuits, power supplies, and optoelectronics devices such as solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and optical fiber.
4. Communication Technology
Communication technology involves converging audiovisual and telephone networks with computer networks through a unified system of cabling or link.
Network enhancements come from recent advancements in computing devices, some of which are specifically developed for network applications and transforming data from one point to another.
It’s a broad and constantly evolving field, covering all devices that receive, store, retrieve, process, transmit information electronically in a digital form. This includes encompassing radio, television, mobile phones, communication devices, satellite systems, as well as many different services.
3. Nuclear Technology
Applications: Production of electrical energy, radiotherapy, smoke detectors, sterilization of disposable products, Radioisotope Thermal Generators used in space missions
When changes occur in the nucleus of atoms, massive amounts of energy are released. Nuclear technology involves all techniques that manipulate/control such changes in the nucleus of some specific elements and transform them into usable energy.
It is extensively used in nuclear power plants to produce electricity. Nuclear power is an efficient and clean way of boiling water to create steam, which turns turbines to generate electricity.
2. Biotechnology
Applications: Use of microorganisms for creating organic products like milk and baking bread, extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms (bioleaching), production of biological weapons
Biotechnology utilizes biological systems and living organisms to develop different products. It covers a wide range of disciplines, from genetics and biochemistry to molecular biology.
1. Information Technology
Applications: Multimedia conferencing, eCommerce, cloud computing, online banking, speech recognition, Intrusion Detection System, online advertisement
Today, Information Technology (IT) refers to everything people use computers for. While this field commonly deals with computers and computer networks, it also incorporates other information distribution technologies such as telephones, television, and the Internet.
Many companies now have IT departments for managing computers, creating and administering databases, and ensuring the efficiency and security of business information systems. Recent advances in computer software have enabled businesses to analyze data more precisely to discover hidden patterns and make informed decisions.