Summary

Science, Technology and Society from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution

Medieval Architecture The greatest and most characteristic expression of medieval technique and thought More technical rather than a scientific achievement The vault and buttress were the result of ad hoc solutions to practical difficulties Theory of the arch was only discovered in our time Development of middle ages economy Increase of village gross surplus and amount of manufacturers thanks to combined effects of improved production and transport. Large scale markets were developed through the perseverance of peasants and urban workers. Semi-luxuries were manufactured such as WINE and GOOD CLOTH and production of extra food like SALT and FISH and metals specifically IRON North German Hanse- centered on the exploitation of the Baltic trade. From about 1358 to 1550 it virtually ruled the old Viking strongholds of Scandinavia. The Hanse had its own navy and maintained factories in other towns, from the Steelyard in London to Novgorod, with extra-territorial rights. By concentrating on buying up raw materials in outlying countries and selling them as finished goods, it depressed the development of industry outside its own cities. Bourgeoisie was then emerging. Commerce and Mathematics Arabic Number (introduced by Leonardo Fibonacci, 1202) found its use in commercial accountancy. Symbolic algebra and the signs + and were introduced and provoked commercial interest which further improved maps and tables for navigation. Art and Science Religious art soon lost its glamour and was replaced by naturalist and secular themes. Fields of pottery, glass, textiles and metal-works provided practical research for properties of matter, physical and chemical allowing material basis for the revival of science and the ultimate thriving of the Renaissance. Achievements of the Middle Ages Established the principles of the scientific method Robert Grosseteste stated the double method of resolution/composition and or of induction/deduction as clearly as Newton would state it 500 years later. But the complacency of during that era only stunted sciences advancement. o Reason for the delay: feudal economies found no use for rational science. Astrology was only given privilege to royalty. Alchemy, although contributing some chemical techniques, its theories were centralized on pure magic. Only western Europe embraced the burst of Hellenistic natural science The Islamic economy collapsed by the 15th century due to invasion and wars. The Turks and Mongols lost their intellectual drive. India became stunted as Islamic intruders and Hinduism added by the caste system only groped the nation for stability within their colonial traditions at the expense of scientific advancement. China maintained its traditions and would do so for the next 400 years before taking the necessary steps of linking technique and book learning.

Technical Innovations from the East and China Technical advancements in the Middle Ages were mere refinements of originally long existing technologies in the East. Although transmission is hard to prove, inventions from 10th century and later Europe were already being used as far back as the 1st century in China. According to Dr. Needham, technical advancement in China stopped before the 15th century due to Mandarin bureaucracy, which was concerned with keeping down merchants and having had literary education, lost interest in improving technique. In Europe, the feudal system was deposed by the increase in productivity and trade. This increase was caused by improvements in agricultural production and transport of goods. Trade increased the importance of towns and merchants. The handicraft business grew in the towns and the country. The characteristics of medieval economy were: Towns did not dominate the country. The absence of slaves prevented the rise of factories 3. Industries from new innovations were located in the country and put importance on mechanical ingenuity. The New Horse Harness A more efficient way of transmitting power. Allowed the horses tractive or pulling effort to increase fivefold. Reached Europe in the early 11th century from 7th century China Results: 1. Horses replaced oxen at the plough. 2. Horse-cart took the place of the ox-cart 3. Made the area around the North Sea and the Channel a major center of production. 4. Surplus of main commodities could now be exchanged at great fairs. The Water-mill and Windmill Water-mills were invented ion the classical period but was only widely used in the Middle Ages An integral part of feudal economy Opened the way to a more general use of power Used wherever steady or repeated applications of force were needed Trip-hammer and crank from China were used to convert rotary into reciprocal motion Crank can also be used to convert reciprocal into rotary motion Windmills reached Europe in 1150 from Persia Used for fulling cloth, blowing bellows, forging iron, sawing wood A manifestation to the relationship of the shortage of labor to technical and scientific development Saw the emergence of millwrights who were the first mechanical and hydraulic engineers The Clock and the Watch Clock originally the bell (cloche) rung to mark the hours of servicelater all the hours 11th century saw the invention of the verge and folliot, which transmitted a to-and-fro motion to the clapper A weight was released through a train of clockwork to strike the appropriate hour A clockwork is essentially a lighter form of millwork Prototype of modern automatic machinery: self-regulating and self-moving Greek water-clocks were improved greatly by the Arabs and were made the basis of complicated and automatic device, but this lacked precision of gear wheels

Gunpowder Invented by the Chinese. Essential ingredient Nitre (Potassium Nitrate) It is the product of careful study of the separation and purification of salts. It made use of the phenomena of solution and crystallization. Mayow Presented the idea that gunpowder made an impact in philosophy as great as the impact it made on war. The discovery of gunpowder indicated the possibility of harnessing the power of natural forces and stood as an inspiration in the building of the steam engine. New sciences were developed to address the flight problems of projectiles shot from cannons. This science of projectiles ballistics led to the study of dynamics. The new mechanics depended virtually on mathematics, it was quantitative and numerical. The science involving the manufacture of gunpowder eventually led to the discovery of oxygen and the modern chemistry. Distillation and Alcohol Alcohol was produced accidentally while producing medicines. The clue to its preparation is to cool the still-head sufficiently to condense the alcohol as well as the water. Alcohol production increased in the 14th century, during the time of the Black Death. They considered it as a medicine at first, and was believed to have granted immortality. It was called aqua vitae Alcohol production reached new heights and paved the way for the first scientific industry distillers. Distillers were also the fore runners of the modern chemical industry. Industries later developed ways of condensing other volatiles like ether by using newly invented water cooled condensers. The science of Thermodynamics was born while trying to explain the phenomena of the transfer of heat In condensation.

Paper Originally made by the Chinese. Literacy was growing rapidly at the time. This meant that cheaper writing materials must be developed. Paper addressed this problem. It was originally invented in China using vegetable fibers. Was introduced to Europe by the Arabs. Paper was good and cheap to produce and led to the increase in printed materials and the shortage of copyists. Printing was later on developed to mass produce printed materials. Printing Printing was already known to man since the earliest times, and was used in seals and rubbings. Its value was recognized when the demand for multiple copies of a text were needed. In the East, printing was used to recopy Taoist and Buddhist prayers, and in the production of paper money.

In the West, the development of playing cards led to large-scale block printing. Cheap Books, Religion, and the New Learning Movable metal types of printers introduced in Europe in the mid 15th century. The new cheap books promoted reading. The demand for books increased, which was caused by religion and literary works and poetry. In the 16th century, books became the medium for technical and scientific changes. It made the scientific articles accessible by anyone and everyone. Techniques in craftsmanship were then passed on thru books. These descriptions of technical processes helped to bring close relations to trades, arts and the learned professions. The Mariner's Compass Ancient peoples, specifically the Chinese, noticed that lodestone reacted to the Earths magnetism. This discovery was one of the most important discoveries of all time. According to Dr. Needham, the discovery was made as a by-product of geomatic divination. A practice of telling the future. One of the materials used was a spoon cut from lodestone. It was discovered that it would always point to one direction. In the 6th century, it was discovered that iron that was in contact with the lodestone before possessed this same property. The traditional Chinese compass was a water compass, with a piece of iron supported in wood. The compass later led to the discovery of magnetism and electricity. It ultimately led to the foundations of science and the works of Newton. The Sternpost Rudder The sternpost rudder came from China. This helped in the improvement of sea travel. Coupled with the compass, the sternpost rudder made sea voyages more feasible. Its effect to sea travel was the same as the effect of horses on land. It opened the oceans to exploration, war, and trade which had enormous and rapid political results. Navigation Navigation was refined due to the invention of tools that made sea travel easier. An astronomy that was capable of accurate predictions was developed. One problem of navigation was finding the longitude. To address this problem, better compasses and navigational instruments were needed. This brought forth a new skilled industry. The card and dial makers influenced science by setting higher and higher standards for accurate measurement. This led to the rise of great instrument makers such as Watt and Newton. Lenses and Spectacles The discovery of lenses in 1350 led to the invention of spectacles, apparently in Italy. Their use led to the study of optics. Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, and Dietrich of Freiburg explained the action of a lens both in

focusing light-rays and magnification. The demand for lenses led to trading of lens grinders and spectacle-makers. The business flourished due to the availability of cheap clear glass. Lenses led to the invention of the telescope by Lippershey in 1608.

Technique and Science It often happened that the mere following of existing trends in the 19th century led to unforeseen difficulties which could be removed only by invoking science. Ideas originating in the body of science itself were developed to form new industries. Science came to be a major agent for affecting technical developments. But its full integration into the productive mechanism had to wait till the twentieth century. The Scientific and Industrial Revolution It might seem better to treat the Industrial revolution of the 18th century and the scientific revolution of the 17th as successive phases in one great transformation. The breakthrough in the scientific revolution was essentially in understanding, and in the industrial revolution, in practice. Phases and Aspects of the Growth of Industry and Science Can be separated into four major phases. 1. Transitional phase (1690-1760), leading to the Industrial Revolution. 2. The French Revolution (1760-1830). A revolution in science and politics. Covers the major advances of the Industrial and Pneumatic Revolution. 3. Heyday of Capitalism (1830-1870) 4. Beginning of Modern Imperialism (1870-1895) The second and third of these phases include two notable periods of advance and triumph of science. { Newtonian physics, in the other the great physical synthesis of Faraday and Maxwell, and the great biological syntheses of Darwin and Pasteur.} Five of the major lines of the nineteenth century: 1) Heat and Energy, including the history of the steam-engine 2) Engineering and Metallurgy, with particular reference to iron and steel 3) Electricity and Magnetism 4) Chemistry 5) Biology The Early 19th Century (1690-1760) End of the renaissance decrease in scientific effort / curiosity. The concern of the people shifted to trade and manufacturing. People concerned with scientific research were replaced by wealthier, less-enterprising and less-curious people. Even though science slackened off, technical change had not ceased. This meant an increase in production. Rapid improvement in agricultural practices caused by an increase in capital due to mercantile sources and caused the rapid growth of towns. Big change rapid expansion of new heavy industries. industries became coal dependent Steam engine invented. Originally was made to drain mines, led to the improvement of iron and steel production and transportation. Established the importance of certain areas of the country to the economy. Science and the Revolution (1760-1830) The second phase of the period covers seventy years, and held as much impact in science as it held in politics. This period were littered with revolutions. Examples are the Industrial Revolution

(which was non-violent in nature), and the revolutionary wars of the French and the Americans. These in turn set the foundation for the current governments of these countries. It was also in this time where the discovery of electricity happened. It was aptly called the pneumatic revolution. These changes will eventually improve the living conditions of all the peoples of the world. The social changes would trigger a change in the society and politics. The Industrial Revolution The term Industrial Revolution was given by Engel and later sanctified by A. Toynbee The term described the drastic changes in the productivity of different fields in the era. Manufacturing and production experienced a sudden boom. The production of cotton increased five-fold in 1766-1787. There has been a sustained increase in production in the succeeding years. Major developments in the industrial revolution occurred in Britain, and in nearby neighborhoods Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, and Glasgow. Everything was a consequence of the extended navigations and colonial developments in the 17th century. Coal and Iron Iron production didnt grow as fast as the other industries due to difficulties in mining coal (which is used in smelting), but iron output increased, enough to meet up to the demands. Before the use of iron in the industrial revolution, brass, tin and copper were the main metals They were unsuitable for machine parts, tools and screws. Iron production depended on water and coal for smelting, and was limited to certain areas where there is wood and running water only. By the 1800s, a new power source is discovered steam. This increased the production of iron. The Mechanization of the Textile Industry The manufacture of woolen cloth one of the main industries since the middle ages. It was manufactured in homes. Tools are worked by hand and powered by muscle. Yarn was in constant short supply Wool production Hard to mechanize due to ancient rtegulations. Cotton production easier to mechanize, but the raw materials have to be imported Production grew when cheaper and plentiful supplies were imported from the Americas and West Indies