Techy

 Technology, the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life or, as it is sometimes phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment.

The subject of technology is treated in a number of articles. For general treatment, see technology, history of; hand tool. For description of the materials that are both the object and means of manipulating the environment, see elastomers; industrial ceramics; industrial glass; metallurgy; mineral deposit; mineral processing; mining; plastic. For the generation of energy, see energy conversion; coal mining; coal utilization; petroleum production; petroleum refining. For treatment of food production, see agriculture, history of; agricultural economics; beekeeping; beer; cereal farming; coffee; commercial fishing; dairy farming; distilled spirit; food preservation; fruit farming; livestock farming; poultry farming; soft drink; tea; vegetable farming; wine. For the techniques of construction technology, see bridge; building construction; canals and inland waterways; dam; harbours and sea works; lighthouse; roads and highways; tunnels and underground excavations; environmental works. For the manufacture and design of the means of transportation, see aerospace industry; automotive industry; ship construction. For communications technology, see broadcasting; computer science; information processing; photography; printing; photoengraving; typography; telecommunication. For the processes and products of other manufacturing industries, see adhesive; clothing and footwear industry; dye; explosive; floor covering; forestry; chemical industry; man-made fibre; surface coating; papermaking; soap and detergent; textile. For medical applications of technology, see diagnosis; therapeutics; drug; medicine, history of; pharmaceutical industry. For military applications, see military technology. For treatment of the organization of technological systems, see automation; engineering; production system; systems engineering; work, history of the organization of.

Doomsday machine, hypothetical device that would automatically trigger the nuclear destruction of an aggressor country or the extinction of all life on Earth in the event of a nuclear attack on the country maintaining the device. The former type of device might automatically launch a large number of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) when it detected a nuclear explosion or an imminent nuclear attack, whereas the latter might detonate several very large thermonuclear bombs that were specially designed to produce great amounts of long-lasting radioactive fallout. Because the aggressor country’s annihilation would in either case be guaranteed, the doomsday machine was viewed as the ultimate nuclear deterrent. The concept was developed by the American nuclear physicist Herman Kahn and discussed in his book On Thermonuclear War (1960).