Jennifers Radio :: Essays Papers

Jennifer's Radio What is the radio? An electronic technology or a human technology? The radio is such a popular item in todays society that most families have several. There is no escaping the radio, it is a constant necessity that all of us have come to require in our daily lives. When people hear about the radio they associate it with electricity, but they do not think about the human aspect. The human aspect is very important in the development of the radio and I will convey that in this paper. People invented the radio in 1894; it was a simple design composed of copper, tubes, lightbulbs, and peoples imaginations. All objects influenced by technology have derived from imaginations and ideas of humans. Human technology is the primary influence in the development of the radio, as opposed to electronic technology, which is secondary. When we think of technology we generally think of electronic devices and electricity, but that is not where machines got their first start. Electricity did not come up with the idea or designs for the radio; it was merely added to the already present machinery. Electricity is a form of electronic technology. Electronic technology is the addition of electricity, and power to energize machines through electronic contact. Human technology is the thought, intelligence, mathematics, science, and language of humans. It is brainpower and the imagination. Human technology is the primary influence over the radio, but I can not rule out the secondary influence of electricity all together. Electricity is one of the key parts to the radios formation. Radios count on electricity; this is how they work, and is one of the main factors that has changed this artifact. It is the constant surrounding factor for the future of the radio, but not the radios inventor. Electricity does not have imagination or thought, it can not dream something up and put it in everyones home, and only human beings have this gift. To complete this brief introduction I will now explain the remainder of this paper. It will trace the development of the radio from the first inventor to the new radios of the future. I will discuss that in 1894 the first radio was built, and the design and size was complex. By the 1950s the radio had taken on new characteristics and simpler operation, and now in the twenty-first century electricity has completely changed the look and purpo se of the radio.