Portal:Technology

The Technology Portal

The wheel, invented sometime before the 4th millennium BC, is one of the most ubiquitous and important technologies. This detail of the "Standard of Ur", c. 2500 BCE., displays a Sumerian chariot

Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible products such as tools or machines, and intangible ones such as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering, and everyday life.

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistory, followed by the control of fire—which in turn contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age, according to the cooking hypothesis. The invention of the wheel in the Bronze Age allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the printing press, telephone, and the Internet, have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the knowledge economy. (Full article...)

Recognized articles -

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Image 1

1888-built Stoughton station building in 2016

Stoughton station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in downtown Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States. It is the terminus of the Stoughton Branch of the Providence/Stoughton Line. Stoughton has one platform (split across Wyman Street) serving one track; the platform has a mini-high section for accessibility. The granite Richardson Romanesque station building, designed by Charles Brigham, has a 62-foot (19 m) clock tower.

The Stoughton Branch Railroad opened from Canton – on the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) mainline – to Stoughton on April 7, 1845. The first two stations were destroyed that year by fire and wind. Stoughton was the terminal of the branch until 1855, and the terminal of passenger service from 1866 to around 1890. The present station building was constructed in 1887–1888; it was called Stoughton Central until 1896. The B&P was leased in 1888 by the Old Colony Railroad, which was in turn leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893. Under the New Haven, the branch saw a mixture of service until 1958, when Stoughton became the terminal. (Full article...)
Image 2
International Business Machines Corporation, more commonly known as IBM is an American technology company that employs 300,000 people across 170 countries, primarily in the United States and India. IBM's low union density and limited union recognition is attributed to a corporate culture, that emphasizes highly individualized relationships between managers and their direct reports, and proactive avoidance of unions when managers become aware of union organizing activity.

Trade unions have limited recognition at IBM in Australia, Japan, Germany and Italy and elsewhere in Europe. There were strike actions in China, Italy and Australia against corporate restructurings and demands for higher wages. In the United States, two (now defunct) initiatives, the IBM Black Workers Alliance and IBM Workers United, were formed in the 1970s to advocate for minority representation and pay transparency. National IBM union affiliates coordinate internationally through the IBM Global Union Alliance along with their respective global union federations. (Full article...)
Image 3

Narragansett Pier Railroad 11, a 2-6-0, in 1934. This locomotive has been preserved at the Everett Railroad

The Narragansett Pier Railroad (reporting mark NAP) was a railroad in southern Rhode Island, running 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from West Kingston to Narragansett Pier. It was built by the Hazard family of Rhode Island to connect their textile mills in Peace Dale to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad at Kingston Station, as well as to ocean-going steamboats at Narragansett Pier. Upon opening in 1876, the railroad also proved crucial in the growth of Narragansett Pier into a major resort. Initially operated at a loss absorbed by the Hazards, by the 1890s the railroad became consistently profitable and handled a brisk passenger business along with freight and mail shipments. The Hazards also operated a connecting steamboat service to Newport.

The railroad's fortunes peaked around 1900; the burning of the Narragansett Pier Casino that year was a blow the resort town never fully recovered from. With competition from the newly-opened electric Sea View Railroad and automobiles alike, passenger numbers declined sharply and the Hazard family sought to exit the railroad business. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad took control from the Hazards via a lease in 1911 through its streetcar subsidiary the Rhode Island Company, and the line was subsequently nationalized by the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) between 1917 and 1920. The Rhode Island Company collapsed in 1919, so the USRA returned the railroad to the Hazard family the following year. (Full article...)
Image 4

Fraxinus ornus
1862 illustration

Fraxinus (/ˈfræksɪnəs/), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous (dropping their leaves in autumn), although some subtropical species are evergreen. The genus is widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America.

The leaves are usually opposite, and mostly pinnately compound (divided into leaflets in a feather-like arrangement). The seeds, known as "keys", are botanically fruits of the type called samara. Some species are dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate plants. (Full article...)
Image 5

Lake Geneva station at Zenda in August 2001

Lake Geneva station was an Amtrak intercity rail station in Zenda, Wisconsin, United States. Commuter service to Zenda was operated by the Milwaukee Road from 1901 to 1982. Lake Geneva station was added as an infill station on the Lake Country Limited on June 15, 2000, to serve the Lake Geneva resort area. The Lake Country Limited was never successful, and service ended on September 23, 2001. Commuter service with a stop near Zenda was studied in 2001, but found to only be marginally feasible. (Full article...)
Image 6

View from the northeast in the 1910s

Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated to Penn Station) was a historic railroad station in New York City that was built for, named after, and originally occupied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The station occupied an 8-acre (3.2 ha) plot bounded by Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Because the station shared its name with several stations in other cities, it was sometimes called New York Pennsylvania Station. Originally completed in 1910, the aboveground portions of the building were demolished between 1963 and 1966, and the underground concourses and platforms were heavily renovated to form the current Pennsylvania Station within the same footprint.

Designed by McKim, Mead, and White and completed in 1910, the station enabled direct rail access to New York City from the south for the first time. Its above ground head house and train shed were considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style and one of the great architectural works of New York City. Underground, the station contained 11 platforms serving 21 tracks, in approximately the same layout as the current Penn Station, which has had various intervening modifications. The original building was one of the first stations to include separate waiting rooms for arriving and departing passengers, and when built, these were among the city's largest public spaces. (Full article...)
Image 7

Original "Bondi Blue" iMac

The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers that Apple Computer sold from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was Apple's first major product release under CEO Steve Jobs following his return to the financially troubled company he co-founded. Jobs reorganized the company and simplified the product line. The iMac was designed as Apple's new consumer desktop product—an inexpensive, consumer-oriented computer that would easily connect to the Internet.

The iMac's all-in-one design is based around a cathode-ray tube display; the G3 processor, components, and connectivity were all included in a single enclosure. Apple's head of design Jony Ive and his team developed a teardrop-shaped, translucent plastic case that was a radical departure from the look of the company's previous computers. The company developed new working methods to finish the computer quickly, and new workflows for designing future products. The iMac eschewed legacy technologies like serial ports and floppy disk drives in favor of CD-ROMs and USB ports. (Full article...)

Selected picture

Image 1
Mars rovers
Photograph: NASA
Two Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers stand with three vehicles, providing a size comparison of three generations of Mars rovers. Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover test vehicle, a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed Curiosity on Mars in 2012.
Image 2
Semi-submersible
Photo: Agência Brasil
The semi-submersible oil platform P-51, operated by Brazilian energy company Petrobras, being positioned by tugboats. Semisubs sit on pontoons located under the ocean surface, with the operating deck atop columns, above the sea level. In this manner, they are relatively protected from wave action.
Image 3
Escalator
Credit: Stig Nygaard
An escalator is a moving staircase for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.
Image 4
Blender (software)
Image credit: Michael Otto
A pastoral scene of a lone house, composed using Blender, an open source 3D computer graphics software. Blender can be used for a number of applications and is available for a wide variety of operating systems.
Image 5
Windmills
Photograph: Uberprutser
A windmill is a mill that converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Traditional windmills were often used to mill grain, pump water, or both. Most modern windmills take the form of wind turbines used to generate electricity, or windpumps used to pump water, either for land drainage or to extract groundwater.

Here, the smock mill Goliath is viewed in front of the wind farm Growind in Eemshaven in the Netherlands.
Image 6
Wheel
Credit: fir0002
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axial bearing. The wheel is one of the main components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines.
Image 7
Steam turbine
Photo credit: Christian Kuhna
The rotor of a modern steam turbine , which converts steam (heat) energy into kinetic (mechanical) energy. The steam path is from the smallest blade, expanding through progressively larger blade elements. Steam turbines are used in power plants to extract mechanical work from pressurized steam and benefit from their high efficiency and high power-to-weight ratio compared to other technologies, leading to their widespread deployment from electricity generation to marine propulsion.
Image 8
Commodore 64
Photo: Evan Amos
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced in 1982 by Commodore International. Its low retail price and easy availability led to the system becoming the market leader for three years. It remains the best-selling single personal computer model of all time.
Image 9
Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station
Photograph credit: Diego Delso
The Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station is a storage power station in Bavaria, Germany. The turbines, seen here, are fed by water from the Walchensee which is then released into the Kochelsee. The power station uses the hydraulic head of about 200 metres (660 ft) between the two natural lakes, and water from the Rißbach river is also used to augment the supply. The installed capacity is 124 MW with an annual production of 300 GWh; this is one of the largest of such power plants in Germany.
Image 10
Geneva drive
Animation: Mike1024
The Geneva drive is a gear mechanism that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion. The rotating drive wheel has a pin that reaches into a slot of the driven wheel advancing it by one step. The drive wheel also has a raised circular blocking disc that locks the driven wheel in position between steps. Such a mechanism is used in film projectors, watches, and indexing tables, among others.
Image 11
BMW S1000RR
Photograph credit: Stefan Krause
The BMW S1000RR is a sport bike made by BMW Motorrad. It was introduced in 2008, initially for competition in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, and has been in commercial production since then. Powered by a 999 cc (61.0 cu in) four-cylinder engine, redlined at 14,200 rpm, it delivers 133.6 kW (179.2 hp; 181.6 PS) to the rear wheel, making it the most powerful motorcycle in the class. Rubén Xaus and Troy Corser rode the bike for its inaugural Superbike World Championship in 2009, gaining highest finishes of fifth and seventh respectively, but it achieved greater success in the 2010 FIM Superstock 1000 championship season, with rider Ayrton Badovini winning every single race but one on the S1000RR.
Image 12
Telephone
Credit: Berthold Werner
A telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that converts sound, typically the human voice, into electronic signals suitable for transmission via cables or other transmission media over long distances through satellite.
Image 13
Micrometer
Photograph: Lucasbosch
A micrometer is a device incorporating a calibrated screw, widely used for precise measurement of components in mechanical engineering and machining. Micrometers are usually, but not always, in the form of calipers (opposing ends joined by a frame). The spindle is a very accurately machined screw and the object to be measured is placed between the spindle and the anvil. The spindle is moved by turning the ratchet knob or thimble until the object to be measured is lightly touched by both the spindle and the anvil.
Image 14
Thermoplastic-sheathed cable
Photograph credit: Petar Milošević
A thermoplastic-sheathed cable consists of a toughened outer thermoplastic sheath of polyvinyl chloride, covering one or more individual annealed copper conductors. Each of the current-carrying conductors in the "core" is insulated by an individual thermoplastic sheath, coloured to indicate the purpose of the conductor concerned. The protective earth conductor may also be covered with insulation, although, in some countries, this conductor may be left as bare copper. The type of thermoplastic, the dimensions of the conductors and the colour of their individual insulation are specified by the regulatory bodies in the various countries concerned.
Image 15
Mary Jackson
Photograph credit: Langley Research Center; restored by Adam Cuerden
Mary Jackson (1921–2005) was an African American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was succeeded by NASA in 1958. For most of her career, she worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; starting as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division, she later took advanced engineering classes and, in 1958, became NASA's first black female engineer.

After 34 years at NASA, Jackson had earned the most senior engineering title available. Realizing that she could not earn further promotions without becoming a supervisor, she accepted a demotion to become a manager of the Federal Women's Program in the NASA Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, as well as of the Affirmative Action Program. In this role, she worked to influence both the hiring and promotion of women in NASA's science, engineering and mathematics careers. She was portrayed by Janelle Monáe as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. This picture, taken in 1980, shows Jackson working at NASA Langley.
Image 16
Let L-410 Turbolet
Photo: Łukasz Golowanow
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engined short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for passenger transport. The L-410 first flew in 1969, and with more than 1100 produced, is the most popular 19-seat plane in history.
Image 17
Thorntonbank Wind Farm
Photo credit: Hans Hillewaert
Wind turbines belonging to the Thorntonbank Wind Farm located in the North Sea, 28 km (17 mi) off the coast of Belgium. Electricity generation started in early 2009, with an initial capacity of 30 MW, and that number is expected to rise to 300 MW by 2015. A 37 km (23 mi) 150 kV undersea cable connects the wind farm to the shore.
Image 18
Tugboat
Image credit: Al2/Lycaon/Jeff Dahl
A diagram showing the parts of a tugboat, a boat used to maneuver large ships in harbours, over the open sea, or through rivers and canals. They also tow barges, disabled ships, and oil rigs. Equipped with powerful engines producing thousands of horsepower, extensive rigging equipment, and a fender of tires for protection, tugboats can push or tow large vessels with high precision and speed.
Image 19
Overhead power line
Credit: Simon Koopmann
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors suspended by towers or utility poles.
Image 20
Laptop computer
Credit: Mike McGregor
The OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive subnotebook laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries.

Main topics

General images -

The following are images from various technology-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The wheel, invented sometime before the 4th millennium BC, is one of the most ubiquitous and important technologies. This detail of the "Standard of Ur", c. 2500 BCE., displays a Sumerian chariot. (from History of technology)
Image 23D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 3Newcomen steam engine for pumping mines (from History of technology)
Image 4Men of Progress by Christian Schussele, representing 19 contemporary American inventors, 1862 (from History of technology)
Image 5Top 30 AI patent applicants in 2016 (from Emerging technologies)
Image 6The compartmented water wheel, here its overshot version (from History of technology)
Image 7A late Bronze Age sword or dagger blade (from History of technology)
Image 8Dome of Florence Cathedral (from History of technology)
Image 9A water-powered mine hoist used for raising ore, ca. 1556 (from History of technology)
Image 10Eric M. C. Tigerstedt (1887–1925) was known as a pioneer of sound-on-film technology. Tigerstedt in 1915. (from Invention)
Image 11Johannes Gutenberg's printing press was voted the most important invention of the second millennium. (from Invention)
Image 12Alessandro Volta with the first electrical battery. Volta is recognized as an influential inventor. (from Invention)
Image 13Pont du Gard in France, a Roman aqueduct (from History of technology)
Image 14'BUILD YOUR OWN TELEVISION RECEIVER.' Science and Invention magazine cover, November 1928 (from Invention)
Image 15NASA Fuel cell stack
Direct-methanol cell (from Emerging technologies)
Image 16Clock from Salisbury Cathedral, ca. 1386 (from History of technology)
Image 17Agriculture preceded writing in the history of technology. (from History of technology)
Image 18Thomas Edison with his second phonograph, photographed by Levin Corbin Handy in Washington, April 1878 (from History of technology)
Image 19Self-replicating 3D printer (from Emerging technologies)
Image 20Design for a flying machine (c.1488) by da Vinci (from History of technology)
Image 21Ford assembly line, 1913. The magneto assembly line was the first. (from History of technology)
Image 22A rare 1884 photo showing the experimental recording of voice patterns by a photographic process at the Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory in Washington, D.C. Many of their experimental designs panned out in failure. (from Invention)
Image 23Walls at Sacsayhuaman (from History of technology)
Image 24Solid-state air batteries
Li-Air composition (from Emerging technologies)
Image 25An axehead made of iron, dating from the Swedish Iron Age (from History of technology)
Image 26A variety of stone tools (from History of technology)
Image 27The preserved Rocket (from History of technology)
Image 28Edison electric light bulbs 1879–80 (from History of technology)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that the 44 NASA astronauts educated at MIT include "Hubble's repairman" John Grunsfeld and moon walker Buzz Aldrin?
... that Zirconic was a U.S. government effort to create reconnaissance satellites equipped with stealth technology?
... that astrophysicist Alan C. Cummings has led more than 1,700 weekly birdwatching walks at Caltech since 1986?
... that Byrnihat was ranked by an air technology company as the world's most polluted city in 2024?
... that Carmel Naughton, having been told that girls were "stupid and couldn't do maths", sponsored a STEM scholarship fund?
... that semi-automated offside technology can track up to 29 points on each football player 50 times per second?
... that Criccieth Castle combined the "latest advances in military technology" with the "haphazard Welsh castle building style"?
... that the Japanese manga series Mink featured futuristic technology even though its creator was unfamiliar with computers?

News

August 31, 2026 – AI boom: Adobe Inc. reaches a US$4 billion deal to offer free access to AI tools in Saudi Arabia with its Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Humain. (Reuters)
July 27, 2026 – Kuwait–Pakistan relations: Kuwait approves the Kuwait–Pakistan Defence Cooperation Agreement, a five-year framework for defence cooperation between the two countries covering military training, exchanges, defence technology, logistics, and cooperation between their armed forces. (Anadolu Ajansı) (Jordan News)
July 22, 2026 – Saudi Arabia–United States relations, Nuclear program of Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia and the United States sign a civil nuclear cooperation agreement allowing Saudi Arabia to use U.S. reactor technology, enrich uranium, and reprocess nuclear waste. The pact excludes the IAEA Additional Protocol and proceeds to U.S. congressional review. (AFP via France 24) (Reuters)
July 15, 2026 – Internet in South Africa: American technology company Amazon partners with South African internet provider Herotel to launch Amazon Leo satellite internet service in 2027, marking its first such African agreement. (AFP via The Manila Times)
July 13, 2026 –: Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez appoints U.S. envoy Félix Plasencia to a foreign relations and overseas trade post, replacing foreign minister Yván Gil, who becomes science and technology minister. (Reuters)
July 1, 2026 – Economic consequences of the Russo-Ukrainian war: Ukraine approves a mechanism for exporting domestically produced weapons and military technologies to raise funds for its defense effort against Russia and attract foreign investment, while requiring that the Ukrainian military's supply needs remain the priority. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Related portals

WikiProjects

Parent project

Technology

Related projects

Architecture
Computing
- Computer Science
Engineering
Electronics
Energy development
Energy
History of Science
Metalworking
Skyscrapers
Telecommunications
Video games
Woodworking

Things you can do

Check the recent changes page for improvements, other changes, and vandalism to these articles
Article requests: Computer science, computing, and Internet topics • Engineering topics • Technology and tools topics
Deletion discussions: Listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Technology
Expand stub articles: stub categories Electronics • Engineer • Optics • Robotics • Telecommunications • Wireless
Notability: Articles with notability concerns, listed at WikiProject Notability
Requested pictures: Technology topics, requested pictures

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals