1970s in science and technology

1960s . 1970s in science and technology . 1980s

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1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

This article is a summary of the 1970s in science and technology.

Science

The 1970s in science and technology reached its height with the ambitious Voyager Program, which sent the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 uncrewed expeditions to several of the outer planets in the Solar System. The program also included a Voyager Golden Record with the spaceships in hopes of presenting aspects of life on Earth to intelligent alien life forms. The record contained pictures and other data about human beings and other living beings on earth. It also had an assortment of music from across cultures.^[1]

Coupled with the zenithal achievements of the Voyagers as the end of NASA's

space stations.

The 1970s witnessed an explosion in the understanding of solid-state physics, driven by the development of the integrated circuit and the laser. The evolution of the computer produced an interesting duality in the physical sciences at this period — analogue recording technology had reached its peak and was incredibly sophisticated. However, digital measurement and mathematical tools, now becoming cheaper (though still out of reach for the general public) allowed discrete answers and imaging of physical phenomena, albeit at a low resolution and a low bandwidth of data. This tendency was to reach its peak in 1982, though the period 1974–1982 represents the 'period of dichotomy' in the metrication of the sciences.

Deep understanding of physics became important in the 1970s. At

and the boundary-condition of the universe.

The biological sciences, spurred by social concerns about the environment and life, gained tremendous detail. The elucidation of molecular biology, bacteriology, virology and genetics achieved their modern forms in this decade. Discrete quantum interactions within living systems became amenable to analysis and manipulation. Genetic engineering became a commercially viable technology.

The changes and attitude of social concern regarding science in the 1970s was addressed by Warren Weaver, who said that "Scientific theories cannot be rigidly deterministic."^[5]

Technology

The birth of modern computing was in the 1970s. The world's first general

in Japan.

The availability of affordable personal computers led to the first popular wave of

.

The 1970s were also the start of

part of automotive mainstream thinking, though it had many precedents.

The United States lagged badly in the development of compact and fuel-efficient vehicles, a side effect of industrial inexperience on the part of the manufacturers in Detroit. Two giants of the industry, GM and Ford both produced vehicles that fell drastically short of customer desires and economic demands; in the case of GM the Vega and for Ford the Pinto. Automotive historians have also described the period as 'the era of poor quality control', and manufacturers internationally produced vehicles that have since become by-words for poor technological integration.

Notably, the 1970s saw the introduction in the automotive field of novel technologies, particularly from Japan and Germany, that would begin to mature in the 1990s and 2000s as viable

, as well as solar-electric and pure-electric vehicles.

The integration of the computer and robot, particularly in Japan, saw unprecedented improvements in mass-produced automotive quality. Japanese advanced lightweight, fuel efficient and environmentally-conscious vehicles dramatically increased in demand, and such cars as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla became some of the most popular and iconic vehicles of the 1970s. Japanese manufacturers dramatically made their presence felt in international markets during the decade.

During the 1970s,

, the first optical disc format used primarily for high quality video.

See also

References