Science and Technology

In recent years life on our planet has been drastically changed due to scientific and technological developments. Our views both of ourselves as individuals in society and of the Universe as a whole have changed as well.

Today, science and technology are closely related. Many modern technologies such as nuclear power and space flights depend on science and the application of scientific knowledge and principles. Each advance in pure science creates new opportunities for the development of new ways of making things to be used in daily life. In turn, technology provides science with new and more accurate instruments for its investigation and research.

Technology refers to the ways in which people use discoveries to satisfy needs and desires, to alter the environment, to improve their lives. Throughout human history, men and women have invented tools, machines, materials and techniques to make their lives easier.

Of course, when we speak of technology today, we are looking at it in a much narrower sense. Generally, we mean industrial technology, or the technology that began about 200 years ago with the development of power-driven machines, growth of the factory system, and mass production of goods that has created the basis for our modern society. Today we often say that we live in an age of science and technology.

According to one estimate, 90 % of all the scientists who ever lived, were alive and active in the 1970-s. This increased scientific activity has brought new ideas, processes, and inventions in ever-growing amount.

The scientific revolution that began in the 16th century was the first time that science and technology began to work together. Thus, Galileo, who made revolutionary discoveries in astronomy and physics, also built an improved telescope and patented a system of lifting water. However, it was not until the 19th century that technology truly was based on science and inventors began to build on the work of scientists.

In a sense, the history of science and technology is the history of all humankind.

Bill Gates

William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft employs more than 39,000 people in 60 countries. Born on October 28, 1955, Gates and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their fa- ther, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Their late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent and chairwoman of United Way International.

At school Gates discovered his interest in software and began programming computers at age 13.

In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer. In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates' foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the suc- cess of Microsoft and the software industry. In 1999, Gates wrote "Business @ the Speed of Thought" a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways.

The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. "Business @ the Speed of Thought" has received wide critical acclaim, and was listed on the best-seller lists of the "New York Times" "USA Today" the "Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com" Gates has donated the proceeds of his book to non-profit organizations that support the use of technology in education and skills development.

In addition to his love of computers and software, Gates is interested in biotechnology. He is an investor in a number of biotechnology companies. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16