ABSTRACT
“Technology” or “tech” is usually associated with the digital wizardry of the computer and the smart phone, but over the centuries its appearances have been as varied as Neolithic stone tools, Roman aqueducts, steam engines, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and genetic engineering. It draws on biomedical as well as physical science, and through its effects on humanity, also involves the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts—all as reflected in the category “Technology.” When the laser was invented in 1960, it seemed a science-fiction “death ray,” but has since become a valuable tool with wide applications. The award of the 2018 Nobel Prize in physics for laser research shows the continuing importance of this device. Medical technology draws on physical and biomedical science, for instance in scanning technologies such as MRI.
