Science and Technology

History of Science and Technology

The History of Science and Technology is as we would expect up to the 2020s as technological advances rewound back to the 19th Century with some technology from the 20th and 21st Century, due to disaster which made the human race not go down the same road.

Science

While Science is still being researched at universities as part of PHDs.

Technology

Technology has been rewound to the 1860s but some technology is still known about and is used. For example, all crude oil has been used and is now exhausted, so any oil derived product or requires it in its supply chain cannot exist unless it can be in other ways such as being made in bioplastic or wood or even metal.
Some People will still have wristwatches but as they can’t be easily manufactured as they are at a finite supply, repairs can be made. In some areas such as power generation, solar panels no longer manufactured as the processes and skills (but not installation) are lost so those are also finite in supply. Due to the unreliability of the electricity supply and to make sure to use as little as possible, machinery is mechanical and if it's tabletop it is hand-cranked. Industrial machinery is more electrical but the emphasis is still on saving electricity. Computers are generally not used, due to their large electricity demand.
It is not unheard of in some parts of Birdencaster to have less electricity than other parts such as in their residential, commercial and industrial sectors, namely in Segment 7 and in 3 5. This would include having less power in their commercial and industrial areas, houses in these have one hour of electricity supply.
Majority of the Population has managed to cope with the regression of technology with a community spirit. others have not, with trying, their best by rigging up devices that can work without electricity, most of the time it doesn't work with the lack of skill or parts available.

Technology by Sector

Commercial

Commercial Technology is as what you would expect but would look more 20th century to save on electricity so that the cash register is mechanical etc. to save on power also, there are no automatic doors.

Residential

Since power supply for homes are unreliable, as these areas only have power for 2 hours a day and mostly have that power when people are out at work or school. As this is a thing household appliances would not be used as the power supply will not be on. Natural gas is still a thing and therefore stoves and ovens are a thing but require matches to light as the spark won't fire.
While Household generators exist they all have been retrofitted from the petrol or diesel versions to use bio-diesel the chemicals required to make bio-diesel while easy to get (Used cooking oil and white spirit (video below - rights BBC 2009)) the use of white spirit while putting out of reach of children can lower harms, it "can lead to chronic central nervous system effects" ^[1] and therefore the technology is not used.

Scented Candles and Candle Culture

Since people in residential areas use candles as there are power issues, scented candles can be used, these scents tend to be easy to make and are commonly sourced in the UK and are common enough to be cheap. These fragrances are:

• Lavender
• Rose
• Sage
• Basil
• Black pepper
• All types of Mint
• Coriander
• Geranium
• Rosemary

Industrial

Typically businesses that can't afford such extravagance will use hand or foot-powered devices. The Redsmith Shop will, for example, use a foot driven hammer for the most experienced employees.
Please start the video at 3:41.

Other Technologies

Banking

The coin sorter in a bank is made from mechanical parts. Coins include 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 250 dominations. Has a hopper for the coins which leads to mechanical disks to sort the coins which get deposited in their sized tubes a mechanical counter turns with each coin with an easy reset lever.
Once a person reaches their 16th birthday they won’t just gain an Extra Employment placement but will also gain the right to open a bank account they can open two if they like and is often recommended. Since payments from the Extra Employment as well as core jobs are paid daily you would expect there would be payment error. This is not the case as the payment is put into limbo so that the account that is having the payment taken out will have the amount taken its just the destination of the funds will be in limbo.
Since it is in the person’s interest to get the money they would open the bank account or accounts. The money, once it is in the person’s bank account, will be deposited in their current account.
The person’s bank account is stored in boxes and those boxes in a draw. Once the box (labelling the person) is taken out there each of the smaller boxes is the person's bank accounts. Current accounts are marked with CA, so savings accounts are marked with SA. Typically people also have physical savings this is so that when a lockdown is declared they have money on hand to pay for goods they require.
Since logs have to be made about financial transactions and computers are not used because of the power needed for them. Punch cards are used instead.

Media

As the general paper is expensive, newspapers are non-existent and, local news is generally shared locally by word of mouth. News from outside to the city is distributed to the local libraries to be read off notice boards. Radio Stations are more widely used since radios require less power than TVs.

Transportation

Cars are nonexistent. Trains are found in Zone 5. Cycle-Rickshaws are widely used and if one is not available citizens often walk or use their own cycles. Birdencaster is inland so boats are not required. All roads are cobbled, excepted some areas in 4 8 is brick-paved pave as it was once pedestrianised. Planes are obviously not in use as the fuel can not be made or refined, so any imports from other countries are transported by ship.

Waste Disposal

Emphasis is put toward recycling and repairing instead of buying anew. Items made by carpenters and red smiths that cannot be repaired are generally returned to them and a credit note was given so a discount can be given at the representative store.
Damaged items are repaired if possible and if not are broken down into their original parts. Copper items will be hammered back to sheet metal to be made into other items. Knitted items of clothing are often unravelled and the wool reused, Reds, browns, blacks, greens and greys, are commonly used. Blue is less common and white is unheard of because white deteriorates to grey during the washing process.

Food and Drink

As the City makes its money from animal products and forestry, meat is on the diet of its residents, however, the city itself is not coastal or on a river so they cannot easily get fish easily and are often tinned. Vegetables and fruits are often tinned however residents with gardens can go their own. Any Food that is exported that will spoil before it arrives at the markets to be bought will be tinned to reduce spoiling, it is not unheard of that farms that produce food will also tin it too.
Complex ingredients are hard to get, for example, cheese sauce is made up of flour, milk and butter, these ingredients are easy to get.
Cuisine within Birdencaster tends towards the simple, as, after a long day of work, people tend not to want to spend large amounts of time on meal preparation. It will tend to be easy and not rely on many processes, it may also be basic so that instead of buying the components to make a sandwich they will eat the constituent parts separately on their plates.
People will tend to eat together and will generally enjoy each other's company. Mostly for the conversation of how their day went and of the news or rumour of the city itself, culinary social gatherings are a thing and do not depend on calendar events like Thanksgiving or Christmas, however, meats that are eaten at these celebrations will not be eaten on other days, unless for the purposes of finishing off leftovers.
When cooking for celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, care is taken into cooking as the activity is more enjoyable. Cooking for The Great Day of Celebration tends to be basic but does tend to lean toward hot meals of pasta. Most meals if they do not require to be heated, the attitude will be towards not heating it in the first place.

There are restaurants within the city that tend to be used for “treat” gatherings such as birthdays or when someone has a promotion etc. Restaurants are not used because people are lazy.

Article Contents

References

[1]A Wikipedia Article on White Spirit Toxicity

Video References

[1]Vegetable Oil for Diesel | Top Gear Youtube Video, Uploaded - (Feb 02 2009) Link
[2]Forging with the treadle hammer! Youtube Video, Uploaded - (Jul 02 2017) Link

Acknowledgements

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Duncan Mirylees

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