in the middle ages in europe the watermills and windmills, brought a revolution to the production of power. The new technologies anabled people to construct wondeful cathedrals - the best example of Gothic architecture. During the 14 century guns appeared in europe. From the 15 to the 17 century the period of Renaissanse spread in New World was discovered and explored.The printed books helped the development of European cultural life.The Renaissanse saw a new interest in technology, and the new technology led to new problem. One problem was that shipbuilding and iron industry needed a lot of wood and Europe soon lost its forests. Another problems was the need in more powerful engines. the 18 century in Europe was the time of the Industrial revolution, the time when technology developed very fast.In 1712 Thomas Newcomen, an Englishman,invented the steam engine.In the 1760, James Watt improved the Newcomen engine, which opened the way to constructing steamboat and locomotives in the early 19 century. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to the engineering profession. More and more universities began to train engineers. During the 19 and 20 centuries peoples lives have greatly changed thanks to science and technology. Achievements in transportation, comemunications and use of energy have had a great influence on the modern society. Medical knowledge has given people longer and healthier lives. Computers are giving us new opportunities at work and at home. Now people have better living standards and much more free time. On the other hand, a lot of people may argue that such great technological achievements do not come without a price. New technology has led to creating weapons of mass destruction, new communication technology and spread of information have brought with them less privacy, the great use and abuse of natural resources is now damaging the environment, the great intensity of human life leads to stresses and makes us question the advantages of high technology.