Major developments in technology Flashcards
Can you name an electronic or electrical product that has shown significant development in the last 70 years?
Radio
Batteries
TVs
Telephone
Can you name two developments that have improved the manufacture and use of the radio since the 1930s?
Transistors - replacing large delicate valves
Integrated circuits (IC or chip) - reducing the bulk, weight and energy requirements
Increased use of thermoplastics (such as acrylic and ABS) and injection moulding - more robust, ergonomic and styled design
What is a GUI?
graphical user interface - a visual display either in LED or LCD format. These now also allow use to control via the screen
Batteries have dramatically reduced in size and increased in performance, can you name three types of battery?
Alkaline
Lithium ion (also Lithium photo, to cope with power surges in camera flashes)
Nickel cadmium (rechargeable)
Nickel metal hybrid (NiMH - rechargeable) - generally replacing nickel cadmium
Zinc-mercury oxide - small, used in hearing aids
Metal chloride - used in electric vehicles
Analogue televisions using cathode ray tubes (CRT) have developed a lot in recent years, can you name some changes?
Digital television (digital signal as opposed to analogue)
HDTV - higher resolution and greater clarity
thin-film technology (TFT) - a liquid crystal display that has a transistor for each pixel to allow for rapid responses to inputs e.g. from a mouse
LCD - liquid crystal display
Plasma technology - allows for larger screens
Can you name two areas of development where ICT has had a major impact?
Change from mechanics to electronics
Miniaturisation
Digitalisation
Developments in software
What are Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID)?
Electronic tags that can be attached to products and can contain information about the product such as ingredients, batch number, date of manufacture, price, use by date etc.
What is Nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology can be defined as the manipulation and rearrangement of individual atoms to create useful materials, systems and devices
Can you define technology push?
A linear process where a scientific or technological advancement is passed to a design and development team to design a useful product using the technology. A successful example is the Sony Walkman, a failure is the Sinclair C5.
Describe market pull
Where the stimulus for new products comes from the need of society or a specific section of the market e.g. more energy efficient domestic appliances as fuel costs rise.
Identify the four stages of a product life cycle
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Decline
What is the main reason for obsolescence in a product
When products are superseded by better models
