The Impact of Technology

The positive impact of technology

Over the last century, many natural materials have been replaced by new or improved materials that perform better, cost less, or last longer. Some of these new materials are also environmentally friendly because they are bio-degradable — they break down naturally instead of sitting in landfills for centuries.

Recycling as a positive technology

Waste paper and cardboard do not have to become rubbish. Recycling technology pulps used paper and cardboard, removes ink and contaminants, and reforms it into new sheets — which are then used to make new packaging products such as cereal boxes, egg cartons, and corrugated boxes. This reduces the number of trees that must be cut down, reduces landfill volume, and uses less energy than making paper from raw wood pulp.

Designing and making packaging

Almost every product needs packaging — to protect it, to keep it clean, to make it easy to transport, and to inform and attract the customer. The nature of the product determines what properties the packaging material needs:

• A fragile product (like glass or eggs) needs a cushioning, rigid packaging material.
• A liquid product needs a watertight, sealed container.
• A perishable food product may need packaging that keeps out air and moisture.
• A heavy product needs strong, load-bearing packaging (like corrugated cardboard).

When designing packaging, technologists draw a development (a flattened, unfolded net) of the container first, so the exact shape can be cut, folded, and glued accurately before making the real product.

The negative impact of technology

Not all technology is good for society. A technological product can solve one problem while creating another — for example, a convenient product might create harmful waste, use up scarce resources, or expose workers to danger. When a negative impact is identified, designers do not necessarily abandon the technology — instead, they look for ways to counteract or compensate for the negative effect through redesign: using a safer material, adding a filter, changing a process, or improving disposal.

Adapting materials to withstand forces

Remember the forces that act on materials: tension (pulling/stretching), compression (pushing/squashing), bending, torsion (twisting) and shear (sliding). A key part of designing any product or structure is choosing or adapting a material so it can withstand the specific forces it will experience — without using more material (and cost) than necessary.

• Reinforcing concrete: plain concrete is strong in compression but very weak in tension — it cracks easily when stretched or bent. Embedding steel reinforcing bars (rebar) inside the concrete before it sets gives the combined material, reinforced concrete, the tensile strength of steel together with the compressive strength of concrete.
• Reinforcing plywood: plywood is made of thin wood veneers glued together with the wood grain of each layer rotated 90° to the one below it. This cross-graining spreads tension and compression forces in multiple directions, so plywood resists splitting and is stronger and more stable than a solid piece of wood of the same thickness.
• Selecting efficient metal sections: instead of using a solid metal bar (which wastes material in the middle, where bending stress is lowest), engineers select cross-sectional shapes that put material exactly where it's needed most:
  • I-beam (girder): most of the material is concentrated in the top and bottom flanges, which resist the highest bending stresses, while the thin central web saves weight and cost.
  • Angle iron: an L-shaped section that resists bending in two directions at once — cheap and common for frames and brackets.
  • T-bar: a T-shaped section used where a flat mounting surface is needed on one side while still resisting bending.

Bias in technology: the mining industry

South Africa is exceptionally rich in mineral resources — gold, platinum, chrome, coal, iron, manganese and more are mined across almost every province. Mining brings jobs and national wealth, but it also carries serious costs and unequal impacts, which is why it is studied as a case of bias in technology — technology that benefits some people or groups while disadvantaging others.

• Acid mine drainage: when mines are dug, sulphide-bearing rock is exposed to air and water, producing sulphuric acid that leaches toxic metals into rivers and groundwater — harming drinking water, farmland, and aquatic life long after a mine has closed.
• Dust pollution from mine dumps: old mine dumps (tailings) release fine dust in windy, dry conditions. Communities living near mine dumps — often poorer settlements — suffer more respiratory illness, showing an unequal, biased burden of harm.
• Indigenous iron-age technology: long before modern mining, iron-age communities in Southern Africa mined and smelted iron ore in clay furnaces to make tools and weapons. This indigenous technology was sophisticated for its time and shows that mining and metalworking in South Africa has a history stretching back over a thousand years.
• Gender bias in mining careers: mining has traditionally been seen as "men's work", and for decades South African law even prohibited women from working underground. Although this has changed, women remain a small minority of the mining workforce, and often face unequal opportunities, facilities, and safety provisions — a clear case of bias built into an industry's technology and culture.