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... n) A new revolution called computers is taking the world by storm. Many companies, such as Apple Computer and Tandy, introduced very successful personal computers in the 1970 s. Augmented in part by a fad in computer, or video, games, development of these small computers expanded rapidly. (Carlton, p. 358) The direct or indirect influence of computers is now nearly universal. Computers are used in applications as diverse as running a farm, diagnosing a disease, and designing, constructing, and launching a space vehicle. Science is a field in which computers have been widely applied from the start.
Because the development of computers has been largely the work of scientists, it is natural that a large body of computer applications serves the scientist. In order to solve scientific problems it is inevitable that researchers must deal with the language of science: mathematics. In attempting to understand more deeply complex natural phenomena, the scientist must use mathematical relationships that become increasingly difficult, as well as data that becomes more voluminous. It would be impossible to manage many of the studies of complex scientific phenomena without the aid of computers. Many scientific computer programs inevitably serve the entire population. An area in which this can be seen and which has experienced a steady growth in computer technology is farming.
When computers are now used to analyze data concerning the feed intake, size, and food content of farm animals, the benefits of such analyses eventually trickle down to many people, mainly because of efficiencies in production that result. (Harmann) Americans are receptive to the [computer] revolution and optimistic about its impact. A new poll indicates that nearly 80 % of Americans expect that in the fairly near future, home computers will be a commonplace as television sets or dishwashers. Although they see dangers of unemployment and dehumanization, solid majorities feel that the computer revolution will ultimately raise production and therefore living standards (67 %), and that it will improve the quality of their children's education (68 %). (Price) Businesses now use computers extensively and on a worldwide basis. A well-known example is the banking industry, which is almost entirely dependent on computers.
Automated bank tellers are now ubiquitous and are little more than input-output devices for a bank's computer. They are also an example of the powerful system called computer networking, in which computers, databases, and input-output devices are connected by means of wire, fiber optic cable, or satellite transmission, sometimes over great distances. The banking business is typical of many businesses today. The problems of record keeping and availability of information are similar in all types of businesses, and the computer is the perfect tool for dealing with such concerns. Satellites are quick ways of sending information to anyone in the world. An artificial satellite is an object placed into orbit around the Earth for the purpose of scientific research, Earth applications, or military reconnaissance.
In April and July 1955 the USSR and the United States, respectively, announced plans to launch such satellites for the International Geophysical Year. Accordingly, the USSR launched Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957, and the United States launched Explorer 1 on Jan. 31, 1958. These two satellites provided an enormous stimulus for further work on artificial satellites, especially with the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts made possible by Explorer 1. All artificial satellites have certain features in common.
They include radar for altitude measurements, sensors such as optical devices in observation satellites, receivers and transmitters in communications satellites, and stable radio-signal sources in navigation satellites. Numerous satellites are orbited to observe the space environment of the Earth or to study the Sun, stars, and extragalactic objects over a wide range of wavelengths. Cellular phones are the fad of today. Cellular telephones are wireless devices that use broadcast radio signals as their medium of communications. Developed in the early 1980 s for telephones in automobiles, the cellular system divides an area into clusters of "cells. " To eliminate interference, neighboring cells do not use precisely the same radio frequencies, but the frequencies used in each cluster may be repeated in adjacent clusters. As the phone user moves away from the transmitter, the signal is switched automatically to the neighboring cell.
In the years since its introduction, cellular phone technology has been miniaturized to the point where a typical mobile phone today can fit into a pocket, and the typical cell phone user is just as often on foot as in an automobile. In the future, this radio-based wireless technology will become the nexus for a whole range of digitized "Personal Communications Services" that will also include the transmission of computer data, visual images, paging, and voice-mail messages. In 1994 the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to sell at auction more than 2, 000 local and regional licenses that will use the radio bandwidths for PCS systems. Plans are also under way to transmit PCS signals worldwide through a ring of small communications satellites.
The electronic revolution is the greatest achievement man has seen after the birth of Christ. So many people are better off today than of years past. Economies are booming, manual labor has decreased, poverty is diminishing slowly, the world is a better place. Thank God for technology! Bibliography: Between, Lawrence. Radio and Television, TIME Almanac. 1995.
Carlton, Jim. Apple: A Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders. Random House, Inc. New York. 1998. Computers. Time Almanac.
CD-ROM. 1995 Dant, Hank. Personal interview. March 25, 1999. Harmann, George. Computers.
Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Vol. 5, 1972. web Apples History. Online. 3 / 12 / 99.
web The Apple Museum. Online. 3 / 12 / 99. web Historical Computer Society. Online. 3 / 12 / 99.
Murphy, Janette. web History of the Technology - Main Page. Online. 3 / 12 / 99. Nally, Chad. web Histories of Electronic Devices.
Online. 3 / 06 / 99. Harmann, Michael. web Technology History. Online. 3 / 10 / 99 Price, Andrew. A New Revolution, TIME Almanac. 1995. Spielvogel, Jackson J.
Computers, World History: The Human Odyssey. New York: West Educational. Truman, Arnold. web Electronics History. Online. 3 / 12 / 99.
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