RESOURCES FOR TECHNOLOGY

1. RESOURCES FOR TECHNOLOGY

2. Technological Resources Every technological process involves the use of seven resources: • People • Information • Materials • Tools & Machines • Energy • Capital • Time

3. Technological Resources • People • People create technology and people consume its products and services • Former USSR sent the first satellite, Sputnik, into space in 1957 • NASA was created in US in 1958 to direct the space program • US astronauts landed on the moon in 1969 • People provide the labor on which technology depends • People are also the consumer of the technology

4. Technological Resources • Information • Technology has grown quickly in the last few decades due to an explosion of information --- internet • Information is used in different ways: surgeon, engineer, farmer etc. • Data --- raw facts and figures • Data is collected, recorded, classified, calculated, stored, and retrieved --- it becomes information • Data processing is the act of turning data into information • Information can be found in computer files, books, films, and museums.

5. Technological Resources • Materials • Natural resources are materials found in nature --- air, water, land, timber, minerals, plants, and animals • Raw materials --- natural resources that are used to make finished products • Renewable raw materials are those that can grown and therefore can be replaced --- wood, natural rubber, animals and plants etc • Nonrenewable raw materials --- oil, gas, coal, and minerals • Limited and unlimited resources --- water, oil etc • Synthetic materials --- nylon, acrylic, teflon, dacron, rayon and fiberglass • Synthetics are not costly and often are more useful than natural materials --- glass, plastics

6. Technological Resources • Tools and Machines • Tools Extend Human capability • Hand tools extend the power of human muscle • Machines change the amount, speed, or direction of a force • Simple machines provide a mechanical advantage, i.e. they multiply the force or distance we put into work --- page 32 • Electronic tools are used for testing electrical circuits. • Optical tools extend the power of the human eye --- lenses, microscopes, telescopes and laser • Lasers send very strong bursts of light energy that can be used to measure, cut, and weld materials • It can also be used to repair damage in a human eye

7. Technological Resources • Energy • It is needed to move, to heat, to cool, to lighten • Renewable energy sources: human, animal muscle, wood • Limited energy sources: oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear fission • Unlimited energy sources: solar, wind, gravitational, tidal, geothermal and nuclear fusion • Many forms of energy start with the sun • Six different kinds of energy sources : human and animal muscle power, solar energy, gravitational energy, geothermal energy, chemical energy and nuclear energy • We can convert energy sources into mechanical, electrical, and light energy • We can only change matter into energy or change one form of energy into another form

8. Technological Resources • Capital • Any form of wealth is capital --- cash, stock, buildings, machinery, and land • To raise capital, a company may sell stock • Investors become part owners or shareholders • Company may turn back some of its profit to investors in the form of dividends • Companies may take loan from a bank --- interest • Time • Early man measured time by sun rise and sun set • Computers process data in nanoseconds (billionth of a sec)