Tool
Early human tools, made of such materials as
By extension, concepts that support systematic or investigative thought are often referred to as "tools" or "toolkits".
Definition
While a common-sense understanding of the meaning of tool is widespread, several formal definitions have been proposed.
In 1981, Benjamin Beck published a widely used definition of tool use.[1] This has been modified to:
The external employment of an unattached or manipulable attached environmental object to alter more efficiently the form, position, or condition of another object, another organism, or the user itself, when the user holds and directly manipulates the tool during or prior to use and is responsible for the proper and effective orientation of the tool.[2]
Other, briefer definitions have been proposed:
An object carried or maintained for future use.
— Finn, Tregenza, and Norman, 2009.[3]
The use of physical objects other than the animal's own body or appendages as a means to extend the physical influence realized by the animal.
— Jones and Kamil, 1973[4]
An object that has been modified to fit a purpose ... [or] An inanimate object that one uses or modifies in some way to cause a change in the environment, thereby facilitating one's achievement of a target goal.
— Hauser, 2000[5]
History
Stone artifacts date back to about 2.5 million years ago..
Up until recently, weapons found in digs were the only tools of "early man" that were studied and given importance. Now, more tools are recognized as culturally and historically relevant. As well as hunting, other activities required tools such as preparing food, "...nutting, leatherworking, grain harvesting and woodworking..."[11] Included in this group are "flake stone tools".
Tools are the most important items that the ancient humans used to climb to the top of the food chain; by inventing tools, they were able to accomplish tasks that human bodies could not, such as using a spear or bow to kill prey, since their teeth were not sharp enough to pierce many animals' skins. "Man the hunter" as the catalyst for Hominin change has been questioned. Based on marks on the bones at archaeological sites, it is now more evident that pre-humans were scavenging off of other predators' carcasses rather than killing their own food.[12]
Timeline of ancient tool development
Many tools were made in prehistory or in the early centuries of recorded history, but archaeological evidence can provide dates of development and use.[13][14][15]
- stone technology (Oldowan) 2.5 million years ago (scrapers; to butcher dead animals)
- Huts, 2 million years ago.
- Acheulean stone technology 1.6 million years ago (hand axe)
- 1.5 Million years ago
- Boats, 900,000 years ago.
- Cooking, 500,000 years ago.
- Javelins, 400,000 years ago.
- Glue, 200,000 years ago.
- Clothing possibly 170,000 years ago.
- 100,000 years ago.
- Harpoons, 90,000 years ago.
- Bow and arrows, 70,000–60,000 years ago.
- Sewing needles, 60,000 – 50,000 BC
- Flutes, 43,000 years ago.
- Fishing nets, 43,000 years ago.
- Ropes, 40,000 years ago.
- Ceramics c. 25,000 BC
- Fishing hooks, c. 23,000 years ago.
- Domestication of animals, c. 15,000 BC
- Sling (weapon) c. 9th millennium BC
- Microliths c. 9th millennium BC
- Brick used for construction in the Middle East c. 6000 BC
- Agriculture and Plough c. 4000 BC
- Wheel c. 4000 BC
- Gnomon c. 4000 BC
- Writing systems c. 3500 BC
- Copper c. 3200 BC
- Bronze c. 2500 BC
- Salt c. 2500 BC
- Chariot c. 2000 BC
- Iron c. 1500 BC
- Sundial c. 800 BC
- Glass c. 500 BC
- Catapult c. 400 BC
- Cast iron c. 400 BC
- Horseshoe c. 300 BC
- Stirrup first few centuries AD
Several of the six classic
The
Machine tools
Other important uses of metal parts were in firearms and threaded fasteners, such as machine screws, bolts, and nuts. There was also the need for precision in making parts. Precision would allow better working machinery, interchangeability of parts, and standardization of threaded fasteners. The demand for metal parts led to the development of several machine tools. They have their origins in the tools developed in the 18th century by makers of clocks and watches and scientific instrument makers to enable them to batch-produce small mechanisms. Before the advent of machine tools, metal was worked manually using the basic hand tools of hammers, files, scrapers, saws, and chisels. Consequently, the use of metal machine parts was kept to a minimum. Hand methods of production were very laborious and costly and precision was difficult to achieve.[30][31] With their inherent precision, machine tools enabled the economical production of interchangeable parts.[28][29][32]
Examples of machine tools include:[28][29]
- Broaching machine
- Drill press
- Gear shaper
- Hobbing machine
- Hone
- Lathe
- Screw machines
- Milling machine
- Shear (sheet metal)
- Shaper
- Bandsaw
- Planer
- Stewart platform mills
- Grinding machines
Advocates of nanotechnology expect a similar surge as tools become microscopic in size.[33][34]
Types
One can classify tools according to their basic functions:
- Moving tools move large and tiny items. Many are physical compression to a surface. In the case of the screwdriver, the force is rotational and called torque. By contrast, an anvil concentrates force on an object being hammered by preventing it from moving away when struck. Writing implements deliver a fluid to a surface via compression to activate the ink cartridge. Grabbing and twisting nuts and bolts with pliers, a glove, a wrench, etc. likewise move items by applying torque (rotational force).[37]
- Tools that enact chemical changes, including temperature and ignition, such as lighters and blowtorches.
- Guiding, measuring and perception tools include the phone, printer
- Shaping tools, such as molds, jigs, trowels.
- Fastening tools, such as glue guns.
- Information and data manipulation tools, such as computers, IDE, spreadsheets
Some tools may be combinations of other tools. An alarm-clock is for example a combination of a measuring tool (the clock) and a perception tool (the alarm). This enables the alarm-clock to be a tool that falls outside of all the categories mentioned above.
There is some debate on whether to consider protective gear items as tools, because they do not directly help perform work, just protect the worker like ordinary clothing. They do meet the general definition of tools and in many cases are necessary for the completion of the work.
Function
Tool substitution
Often, by design or coincidence, a tool may share key functional attributes with one or more other tools. In this case, some tools can substitute for other tools, either as a makeshift solution or as a matter of practical efficiency. "One tool does it all" is a motto of some importance for workers who cannot practically carry every specialized tool to the location of every work task, such as a carpenter who does not necessarily work in a shop all day and needs to do jobs in a customer's house. Tool substitution may be divided broadly into two classes: substitution "by-design", or "multi-purpose", and substitution as makeshift. Substitution "by-design" would be tools that are designed specifically to accomplish multiple tasks using only that one tool.
Substitution is "makeshift" when human ingenuity comes into play and a tool is used for an unintended purpose, such as using a long screwdriver to separate a cars control arm from a ball joint, instead of using a tuning fork. In many cases, the designed secondary functions of tools are not widely known. For example, many wood-cutting
Tools are often used to substitute for many mechanical apparatuses, especially in older mechanical devices. In many cases a cheap tool could be used to occupy the place of a missing mechanical part. A window roller in a car could be replaced with pliers. A transmission shifter or ignition switch would be able to be replaced with a screwdriver. Again, these would be considered tools that are being used for their unintended purposes, substitution as makeshift. Tools such as a rotary tool would be considered the substitution "by-design", or "multi-purpose". This class of tools allows the use of one tool that has at least two different capabilities. "Multi-purpose" tools are basically multiple tools in one device/tool. Tools such as this are often power tools that come with many different attachments like a rotary tool does, so one could say that a power drill is a "multi-purpose" tool.[40]
Multi-use tools
A multi-tool is a hand tool that incorporates several tools into a single, portable device; the Swiss Army knife represents one of the earliest examples.[41] Other tools have a primary purpose but also incorporate other functionality – for example, lineman's pliers incorporate a gripper and cutter and are often used as a hammer;[39] and some hand saws incorporate a square in the right-angle between the blade's dull edge and the saw's handle. This would also be the category of "multi-purpose" tools, since they are also multiple tools in one (multi-use and multi-purpose can be used interchangeably – compare hand axe). These types of tools were specifically made to catch the eye of many different craftsman who traveled to do their work. To these workers these types of tools were revolutionary because they were one tool or one device that could do several different things. With this new revolution of tools, the traveling craftsman would not have to carry so many tools with them to job sites, in that their space would be limited to the vehicle or to the beast of burden they were driving. Multi-use tools solve the problem of having to deal with many different tools.
Use by other animals
Tool use by animals is a phenomenon in which an animal uses any kind of tool in order to achieve a goal such as acquiring food and water,
Among other
Several species of
Non-material usage
By extension,
A telephone is a communication tool that interfaces between two people engaged in conversation at one level. It also interfaces between each user and the communication network at another level. It is in the domain of media and communications technology that a counter-intuitive aspect of our relationships with our tools first began to gain popular recognition. John M. Culkin famously said, "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us".[50] One set of scholars expanded on this to say: "Humans create inspiring and empowering technologies but also are influenced, augmented, manipulated, and even imprisoned by technology".[51]
See also
- Antique tool
- Equipment
- Human factors and ergonomics
- List of timber framing tools
- Scientific instrument
- Tool and die maker
- Tool library
- ToolBank USA
References
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External links
- Media related to Tools at Wikimedia Commons