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The Technology Portal

P:TECH

Technology is the continually developing result of accumulated knowledge and application in all techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in industrial production and scientific research. Technology is embedded in the operation of all machines, with or without detailed knowledge of their function, for the intended purpose of an organization. The technologies of society consist of what is known as systems. Systems apply the intended application of a technology's accumulated knowledge by obtaining an input, altering this input for the system's intended purpose through what is known as a process, and then producing an outcome that alters the ultimate intended purpose of the system. This is also known as a technology system or technological system.

The earliest and simplest form of technology is the development of knowledge that leads to the application of basic tools towards an intended purpose. The prehistoric invention of shaped stone tools and the discovery of how to control fire and increased the sources of food that were available to human beings through the proper cooking procedures that eliminated almost all disease-causing pathogens in food sources. The event that occurred after, the Neolithic Revolution, extended the importance of this event and quadrupled the sustenance available from a usable territory through the development of farming technologies. (Full article...)

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Pennsylvania Route 321 (PA 321) is a 43.8-mile-long (70.5 km) state highway located in Elk and McKean counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in the community of Wilcox. The northern terminus is at PA 346 within the Allegheny National Forest. PA 321 heads northwest from Wilcox through rural areas to the borough of Kane, where it forms a brief concurrency with US 6. North of here, the route heads through the national forest and runs along the shore of the Allegheny Reservoir. PA 321 runs east briefly with PA 59 before winding north through more forest to its northern terminus. A portion of the route along the Allegheny Reservoir is designated as the Longhouse National Scenic Byway, a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway.

The road between Wilcox and Kane was designated as part of Legislative Route 97 (LR 97) in 1911 and as part of PA 6 in 1924. US 119 became concurrent with PA 6 in 1926 before US 219 replaced both designations on this stretch of road two years later. The road between Kane and Kinzua was built in the late 1920s and became an extension of PA 68 in 1935. In 1952, US 219 was relocated off the road between Wilcox and Kane. Plans were made to construct the Kinzua Dam in 1960, and several new roads would need to be built to accommodate the reservoir including a relocation of PA 68. In 1961, the PA 321 designation was approved for the unnumbered road between Wilcox and Kane and PA 68 between Kane and Kinzua in order to provide an access road to the planned recreation area; signs were posted the following year. (Full article...)
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M-8 is a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan lying within the cities of Detroit and Highland Park. Much of it is the Davison Freeway, the nation's first urban depressed freeway, which became a connector between the Lodge (M-10) and the Chrysler (Interstate 75, I-75) freeways.

Named for an English immigrant to the area, Davison Avenue was originally the only street connecting across Highland Park to Detroit. It was rebuilt by the city and Wayne County as a freeway during World War II. The roadway was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in 1993 and numbered as M-8. Subsequent changes by the state rebuilt the freeway and extended the M-8 designation to connect to the Jeffries Freeway (I-96). (Full article...)
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The Western Union Telegraph Building was a building at Dey Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The Western Union Building was built with ten above-ground stories rising 230 feet (70 m). The structure was originally designed by George B. Post, with alterations by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. It is considered one of the first skyscrapers in New York City.

Western Union decided to construct the building in 1872 after outgrowing a previous space at 145 Broadway. Post was selected as the winner of an architectural design competition, and the building was completed in February 1875. At the time of its completion, it was one of the tallest structures in New York City, behind only Trinity Church, the New York Tribune Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge towers. The original design contained eleven stories including the ground story. It contained a three-story mansard roof and a clock tower whose pinnacle gave the building its 230-foot height. The interior included executive offices, a large telegraph operating room, and office space that could be rented to other tenants. (Full article...)
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King's Highway 70, commonly referred to as Highway 70, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which provided a shorter route from Highway 6 and Highway 21 in Springmount to Highway 6 in Hepworth. The route, which now forms part of Highway 6, was 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) long and travelled in a southeast–northwest direction west of Owen Sound. The route followed an early trail blazed by deputy surveyor Charles Rankin in 1842 that was upgraded to a modern road in the 1920s. Highway 70 was designated in 1965 and renumbered as Highway 6 in 1997. Another Highway 70 existed near Kenora between 1937 and 1959 before being renumbered as Highway 71. This designation was applied along the newly opened Heenan Highway, shortly after the Department of Highways (DHO) began numbering routes in northern Ontario. However, a series of renumberings in 1960 led to the entire length becoming part of Highway 71. (Full article...)
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Mississippi Highway 365 (MS 365) is a state highway in northeastern Mississippi. The route starts at MS 30 in Burton and travels northward. It travels into Burnsville and intersects U.S. Route 72 (US 72). MS 365 continues northeastward and ends at MS 25 west of Pickwick Lake. The route was designated by 1950, connecting from MS 30 to MS 364. It was extended northward to MS 356 around 1958 and was completely paved by 1964. The route replaced parts of MS 356 in 1965, and its northern terminus was changed to MS 25. (Full article...)
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Interstate 140 (I-140) and North Carolina Highway 140 (NC 140) is a 25.4-mile (40.9 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway and state highway in the US state of North Carolina. Officially designated the John Jay Burney Jr. Freeway, it serves as a bypass of Wilmington. The western terminus of the highway is at U.S. Highway 17 (US 17) near Winnabow. It heads north in western Leland before turning to the east north of an interchange with US 74/US 76. I-140 crosses the Cape Fear River north of Navassa and the Northeast Cape Fear River northwest of Wrightsboro. I-140 ends at I-40, and the route number changes to NC 140. NC 140 continues to the east, ending at US 17 in Kirkland.

The need for a bypass north of Wilmington was identified by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in 1972. However, the first contract for construction was not awarded until 2000. In August 2005, the first segment of I-140 between I-40 and NC 133 opened. This was followed by a westward extension to US 421 and an eastward extension to US 17 in June 2006. US 17 was routed along the entirety of the freeway between Kirkland and US 421, running concurrently with I-140. Construction on the western segment between Winnabow and US 74/US 76 began in March 2010 and was opened in September 2014. This segment was temporarily designated as NC 140 as it lacked connection with I-140 to the east. The final segment between US 74/US 76 and US 421 began construction in 2014 and was completed in 2017. I-140 was routed along the entirety of the freeway west of I-40. Additionally, US 17 was removed from its concurrency with I-140, being rerouted through Wilmington in 2017. The remaining section between I-40 and Kirkland was subsequently renumbered as NC 140. (Full article...)
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New York State Route 32B (NY 32B) was a state highway in the Capital District region of New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route was at an intersection with NY 32 in Queensbury. Its eastern terminus was at a junction with U.S. Route 4 (US 4) in Hudson Falls. NY 32B, named Warren Street in Queensbury and River Street in Hudson Falls, ran along the banks of the Hudson River as it went from Glens Falls to Hudson Falls. It crossed over the Glens Falls Feeder Canal near its junction with NY 32 in Queensbury.

When NY 32B was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, it began at an intersection with US 4 and NY 32 in Northumberland and ended at US 9 in Glens Falls. The portion of the route between Northumberland and Hudson Falls was concurrent with US 4 upon assignment while the segment west of Boulevard in Queensbury became concurrent with NY 32 in 1949. NY 32B was truncated north to Hudson Falls in the early 1940s and east to Boulevard c. 1962. The route was partially replaced with NY 254 c. 1965. (Full article...)

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Wheel
Credit: fir0002
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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Union Pacific 844
Photo: Drew Jacksich; edit: Bruce1ee
Union Pacific 844 at Painted Rocks, Nevada, on a run from Elko to Sparks, on September 15, 2009. Built in 1944, it was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad.
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Apple Bandai Pippin
Photograph: Evan Amos
The Apple Bandai Pippin is a multimedia technology console designed by Apple Computer based on the Apple Pippin platform, and produced by Bandai. Only 100,000 of the consoles were produced between its 1996 release and 1997 discontinuation. The Bandai Pippin was intended to create an inexpensive computer aimed mostly at playing CD-based multimedia software, especially games, but also functioning as a thin client.
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Thorntonbank Wind Farm
Photo credit: Hans Hillewaert
Wind turbines belonging to the Thorntonbank Wind Farm located in the North Sea, 28 km (17 mi) off the coast of Belgium. Electricity generation started in early 2009, with an initial capacity of 30 MW, and that number is expected to rise to 300 MW by 2015. A 37 km (23 mi) 150 kV undersea cable connects the wind farm to the shore.
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Semi-trailer truck
Diagram: H Padleckas and Ju gatsu mikka
A diagram showing a side and underside view of an 18-wheeler semi-trailer truck with an enclosed cargo space. The underside view shows the arrangement of the wheels, and in blue, the axles, drive shaft, and differentials.

The numbered parts are:

'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000010-QINU`"'

#tractor unit
#semi-trailer (detachable)
#engine compartment
#cabin
#sleeper (not present in all trucks)
#air dam
#fuel tanks
#fifth-wheel coupling
#enclosed cargo space
#landing gear (legs for when semi-trailer is detached)
#tandem axles

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Blender (software)
Image credit: Michael Otto
A pastoral scene of a lone house, composed using Blender, an open source 3D computer graphics software. Blender can be used for a number of applications and is available for a wide variety of operating systems.
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Caliper
Image credit: Joaquim Alves Gaspar
An animation showing how to use a vernier caliper, which is a caliper that uses a vernier scale to interpolate linear measurements. Vernier calipers can measure internal and external dimensions using, respectively, the uppermost and lower jaws, and also depths, using the depth probe (located at the right end). In this example, the first two digits (2.4) are decided by the location of the zero of the vernier scale in the centimeter scale, and the last digit (0.07), by the first line of the vernier scale that exactly matches a line of the centimeter scale above.
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BMW S1000RR
Photograph credit: Stefan Krause
The BMW S1000RR is a sport bike made by BMW Motorrad. It was introduced in 2008, initially for competition in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, and has been in commercial production since then. Powered by a 999 cc (61.0 cu in) four-cylinder engine, redlined at 14,200 rpm, it delivers 133.6 kW (179.2 hp; 181.6 PS) to the rear wheel, making it the most powerful motorcycle in the class. Rubén Xaus and Troy Corser rode the bike for its inaugural Superbike World Championship in 2009, gaining highest finishes of fifth and seventh respectively, but it achieved greater success in the 2010 FIM Superstock 1000 championship season, with rider Ayrton Badovini winning every single race but one on the S1000RR.
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Empire State Building
Image credit: Lewis Hine
A structural worker bolts beams on the framework during the construction of the Empire State Building in New York City. The 1,250-foot (380 m) building opened on May 1, 1931, at the time the tallest building in the world, overtaking the Chrysler Building (seen to the right), which had just been completed the year before. The addition of a pinnacle and antennas later increased its overall height to 1,472 feet (449 m).
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Pin tumbler lock
Photo credit: Eric Pierce
The pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that utilizes a group of pins of varying lengths to prevent opening the lock without the correct key. Pin tumblers are most commonly employed in cylinder locks, but may also be found in tubular or radial locks.

When the correct key is inserted, the gaps between the key pins (red) and driver pins (blue) align with the edge of the plug (yellow).
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Overhead power line
Credit: Simon Koopmann
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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Windmill
Photo credit: Michael Reeve
Pitstone 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.
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John Herschel
Photograph: Julia Margaret Cameron; restoration: Adam Cuerden
John Herschel was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, and experimental photographer. He named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus, invented the cyanotype and actinometer, and wrote extensively on topics including meteorology, physical geography and the telescope.
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Commodore 64
Photo: Evan Amos
The 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.
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Telephone
Credit: Berthold Werner
A 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.
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Trojan Room coffee pot
Picture: Quentin Stafford-Fraser
The Trojan Room coffee pot was the inspiration for the world's first webcam. The coffee pot was located in the corridor just outside the so-called Trojan Room within the old Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. The webcam was created in 1991 to help people working in other parts of the building avoid pointless trips to the coffee pot by providing, on the user's desktop computer, a live 128×128 pixel greyscale picture of the state of the coffee pot. The webcam was shut down on 22 August 2001, following the Computer Laboratory's move to the William Gates Building.
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Stockwell Garage
Photograph: David Iliff
An interior view of Stockwell Garage, a large bus garage in Stockwell, London, designed by Adie, Button and Partners and opened in 1952. The 393-foot-long (120 m) roof structure, seen here, is supported by ten very shallow "two-hinged" arched ribs, between which are cantilevered barrel vaults topped by large skylights. The garage, which could originally hold 200 buses, has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1988.
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Brusio spiral viaduct
Photo: David Gubler
The Bernina Express passing over the Brusio spiral viaduct. Located near Brusio, Graubünden, Switzerland, the single track nine-arched stone spiral railway viaduct was opened in 1908. It is part of the World Heritage-listed Bernina railway.
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Laptop computer
Credit: Mike McGregor
The OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive subnotebook laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries.
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Escalator
Credit: Stig Nygaard
An escalator is a moving staircase for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.
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Did you know - show different entries

... that a researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation described Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts as "a technology that should not exist"?
... that Mary Earle was born near Ben Nevis, and although she became a professor of food technology in New Zealand, she never forgot her Scottish roots?
... that in 1948 and 1952, nuclear physicist Leslie Shepherd published scientific papers on the use of nuclear technology for interplanetary and interstellar space travel?
... that Wu Ziliang developed the technology to separate uranium-235 for China's first nuclear bomb?
... that racing driver James Sofronas worked as a salesman for a technology company to buy the Nissan NX 2000 required for his first competitive race?
... that Turkey's Anadolu Shipyard signed a contract with India's Hindustan Shipyard to transfer technology for the building of five fleet support ships for the Indian Navy?