Science And Technology: Are They Related?

Technology plays a very vital role in our world today, leaving no aspect lagging from Arts to Crafts, Media, Sports, Medicine etc. Technology involves the use of materials, tools, techniques and sources of power to make life easier and pleasurable, making work more faster and productive.

Science is concerned with how and why things happen, whereas technology is concerned with making things happen. Technology was derived from the Greek words “Techne” and “Logos.” Techne is a term that refers to the arts, craft, or skill. On the other hand, the word logos means “to speak of.”

According to George. W. Bush, computer is developed to tell you the difference between a squirrel and a bomb, while Alan Kay states that the best way to predict the future is to invent it.; Sydney .J. Harris in his Work emphasizes that the real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that man will begin to think like computers.

With all of this, we might be able to consider the fact that:

Computer creates a higher standard of living.

Computer enables an easy and better access to knowledge,

The Internet: Breaks communication and racial barriers,

Better Health Care Services,

Easy completion of tasks.

Science on the other hand according to the Oxford Languages is defined as; The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiments.

The word Science which is gotten from the Latin word “Scientia” means Knowledge: It’s a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The earliest roots of science dates back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia around 3000 to 1200 BCE.

Modern Science can be said to possess 3 branches;

Natural Sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This is the study of nature in it’s broadest sense.

Social Sciences: Economics, Psychology and Sociology. This is the study of individuals and societies.

Formal Sciences: Logic, Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, which deals with symbols governed by rules.

Another branch of Science that uses existing scientific knowledge for practical purposes such as Engineering and Medicine are described as “Applied Sciences”.

New knowledge in science is advanced by research from scientists who are motivated by curiosity about the world and a desire to solve problems.

In our work today, we shall be looking at the relationship between Science and Technology. Science can be said to contribute to technology in at least four (4) ways –

Research instrumentation, laboratory techniques and analytical methods used in research that eventually found their way into designs or industrial practices, often through intermediate disciplines.

Knowledge base that spurs through strategies of applied research, development of new technologies.

New knowledge which serves as a direct source of ideas for new technological possibilities.

Practice of research as a source for development and assimilation of new human skills and capabilities eventually useful for technology.

Progressively examining the relations between Science and Technology exposes the importance of one to the other. As science deals with deep research on how things happen, Technology therefore is the womb through which civilization being the outcome of science is birthed to reality.

Scientists evolved ways of gathering and processing data into useful information around the human environment by relying solely on their brains. Computational aids such as Abacus and the slide rule were invented in order to simplify data manipulations. Some inadequacies were observed in the human computational system which necessitated the quest for replacement by a machine. These limitations are:

Complex Calculations handled by human beings are unreliable due to wide margin of errors. These errors can be attributed to carelessness, fatigue, distractions, laziness etc.

The Speed Is Low: A simple arithmetic addition or subtraction operation takes several seconds, this human being could never solve billions of such operations manually in a reasonable period of time or at a reasonable cost.

As a result to the above mentioned, a machine was invented to eliminate the limitations of the human computational system. Initially the machine was used for computation and referred to as computer, but as technology continues to advance, it serves many purposes.

The first electronic computer was made in the late 1940s and early 1950s. They were used to solve complex scientific problems. Today computers are more powerful and are used as Electronic games, Cash Registers, Scales, Calculators, Household appliances, Instrumentation and control, Communications, Industrial, Business Equipment's , Transportation, Aerospace Military, Weather Forecasting.

A computer from the foregoing is a machine which can accept inputs in the form of data and instructions, processes them to produce the desired output. Consequently, computational system whether human or machine possesses the following components.

A means of interpretation and execution of programs called processor.

A means of transferring information: (i) Between the memory and the processor. (ii) Between the computer and the outside world.

A means of storing programs and data called Memory.

We can say science in our present day has evolved through technology and still getting better with new developments and introduction of modern day facilities. Setting from 1948,(3)three scientists, John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brittain working at AT & T’s Bell Labs invented what would replace the vacuum tube forever. Several other transistors were discovered, but in 1975, the microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip:100 to 1000 transistors.

In 1981 IBM introduced it’s first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop (Computers that can be installed on desks) and into many area of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors. As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks which eventually led to the development of the internet. Fourth generation Computers also saw the development of hand held devices. Today there are various microprocessors with amazing performances which suggest that there is no end in sight for Computer generations. Some of these microprocessors sizes may not be more than 3×3 inches but contains thousands of components due to very large scale integrated technology.

The present and beyond of Computer development had led to fifth generation Computers that are based on Artificial intelligence. Though it is still in it’s progressing stage, some successes such as voice recognition and imitation of human reasoning are being used today. The capacity to learn self organization and the ability to respond to natural languages (e.g. Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Urhobo, French, English etc.) are some of the successes of the present day science and technology.

The relationship between Science and Technology occurs when the exploration of a new field of success is deliberately undertaken with a general anticipation that it has a high likelihood of leading to useful application. Although there is no specific end product in mind, researches were undertaken by Industries or supported by military services. Broad industrial and government support for condensed matter physics and atomic and molecular physics since world war II has been motivated by the well substantiated expectation that it would lead to important new applications in electronics, communication and components.

Technology is applied to roles each individual fulfils during life. We use technology on a daily basis to accomplish specific tasks or interests. Modern technology increases human capabilities and this technology has evolved with years. Let’s look at a simple example in transportation technology. This technology has evolved with years, we used to use steam powered trains now those have been replaced by electronic trains which are more faster than steam trains.

Technology is science applied to practical purposes. This simply means that science is the bedrock of technology, the root where technology spurs from. Science can be called the foundation on which technology is built. Science and Technology goes together as one cannot thrive on its own without the other.