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Third Technological Revolution

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A History of Mechanical Engineering

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Abstract

After WWII, the Third Technological Revolution appeared in the horizon, which has been unprecedentedly influencing all aspects of human society. The First and Second Technological Revolutions are both centered around power, while the third one is developed around information. Mechanical engineering, being backbone in the past two revolutions, was shifted aside and gave place to information, although it is still a corner stone in the economy.

The First Wave of change—the agricultural revolution—took thousands of years to play itself out. The Second Wave—the rise of industrial civilization—took a mere three hundred years. Today history is even more accelerative, and it is likely that the Third Wave will sweep across history and complete itself in a few decades.

—Alvin Toffler (American writer, 1928–2016): The Third Wave, 1980

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Ce Zhang

  2. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

    Jianming Yang

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  1. Ce Zhang
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Zhang, C., Yang, J. (2020). Third Technological Revolution. In: A History of Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0833-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0833-2_9

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