The factors that limit a technological design can be physical and social. The physical limitations are constraints due to nature itself. They include natural laws and properties of materials. Social limitations on the other hand <span>are limitations that arise as a result of the society we are living in and include the ease of use, safety, attractiveness, and <span>cost.</span></span>
Some factors that can limit a technological design are, say the type of materials used to build it and their availability, and the skill of the artisans that make the ensuing product. For example, once I had a bridle made for carrying a piezometer (an instrument for measuring water pressure in drill holes) down a hole with a shallow dip. One limit was that somehow the bridle must utilize gravity to pull the piezometer down the hole to the desired location. Steel pipe was used to give weight to the bridle and the piezometer was taped to this. But the vertical component of the weight was too low due to the shallow hole angle so roller bearings had to be inserted in the pipe to allow it to roll down inside the steel drill rods to the desired location, thus overcoming friction which was also a limiting factor. Thanks to the skill of the machinist who made it, it was very successful and worked very well.
