Technology in 1970s

The foundation of technological advancements that we see today, was laid long back in the 1970s. It was the beginning of a new era in computer development as well as space exploration. The car industry was learning from its mistakes, while the inventions like microwave ovens and cassette tapes reached the heights of unprecedented popularity.

A New Beginning
The 1950s and 1960s saw frequent face-offs, between those who supported technological development and those who were against it. But it was the '70s decade that witnessed the convergence of technology and commerce. Computers, cars, space exploration are only a few of the numerous technologies that developed and improved tremendously in these 10 years. Some of the notable inventions of this decade are the Microprocessor chip, Personal computer, Cellular mobile phone and the E-mail.

Computers
With the development of Intel 4004, the world's first microprocessor, progress in the field of computers gained speed. Personal computers were manufactured as a result of large scale integration in microprocessor chips. These were used in maintaining financial data, playing games, etc. Some of the important brands of personal computers released in this period were Apple II, Commodore PET, etc. in USA and the NEC PC-8001 in Japan. Personal computer was a totally new concept at that time. It led to the development of networking. Optical fiber - made of plastic or glass was another path-breaking technology, useful for sending data at high bandwidths. Moreover the signals carried by these fibers were capable of traveling long distances without much losses. Cray Research, Inc. proved to be a pioneer in the development of supercomputers as it released 'Cray-1' - world's first supercomputer.

Automobiles
The 1970s saw the advent of small cars in the automobile sector. Japan scored in the area of developing small cars than any other country. The Japanese and German companies developed cars that were light in weight, fuel-efficient and also environment friendly. They also made their presence felt by bringing in the concept of Alternate Fuel Vehicles - which used fuels other than petroleum.

Space Exploration
The major step taken in this field was the setting up of space stations on 19th May 1971 and 14th May 1973 by Russia and USA respectively. The 'Salyut' was Russia's space station while USA named its station as 'Skylab'. The 1970s witnessed co-operation in space research between these super powers. These were possibly, the signs of the end of 'Cold War' between the two countries.

Microwave Oven
Microwave ovens became popular in this decade because their prices fell, as well as they became more compact. Though, the development of these ovens started long back in the 1940s, Percy Spencer an engineer first discovered, the use of microwaves for the purpose of cooking around 1947.

Cassette Tapes
These are magnetic tapes used for recording the sound. Cassette tapes gained popularity because of their capability to store songs. Originally developed for dictation purpose, improvement in the quality of sound recording, made it possible to record songs as well.

Some Major Technological Inventions

• Dr. A. Jacques Beaulieu in 1970, invented a laser called 'TEA Co2' with the help of a research team from the defense forces. This laser, used in gas lasers, needed high power.
• In 1973 the first Black Box playback - a mechanism to record flight information, started. This system was established at the Ottawa airport in Canada.
• Canada developed the most effective satellite system of that time in 1976, known as Hermes.

Today's advanced technologies, like the Internet, wouldn't have reached this far, had it not been the invention of personal computers, networking, etc. Technology, thus, developed in the 1970s opened a whole new avenue for a new beginning in the field of computers, space technology, automobiles and a wide range of other fields.