Group items tagged

It is a participant in the International Space Station and the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) is slated to be added to the International Space Station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in 2008.

Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis.

Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Debate also continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy, particularly with respect to increasing income disparities.

China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting

The burakumin (people of the village) are ethnically the same as the majority of Japanese. However, their ancestors were members of the former outcast class. The burakumin are often treated unfairly.

Shinto is based on the worship of local spirits in nature.

Japan has a rich and complex culture. Native Japanese traditions have been mixed with cultural styles adapted from China and, later, from the West. Japanese culture and art emphasize understated simplicity, elegance, and grace. For example, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, flower arranging, and garden design are highly stylized and refined. On the other hand, contemporary Japanese society fully embraces Western-style popular culture—influenced by television, motion pictures, and advertising.

modern Japanese writers include Soseki Natsume, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, and Yukio Mishima.

Poetry plays a central role in Japanese culture.

The carefully composed paintings used few brush strokes to suggest a scene in nature.

Japanese No plays are generally short, stylized, and heroic.

Today the martial arts are more important as competitive sports and as aids to physical and mental fitness.

The Japanese economy grew remarkably throughout the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.

Historical records, however, show that Japan was not united as one state until the late 4th or early 5th century AD. It was ruled by the Yamato dynasty.

Meanwhile, Japan was developing trade contacts with the outside world.

By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate was unable to keep European and United States traders away.

A new government was established under the young emperor Mutsuhito, who took the name of Meiji, meaning “enlightened government.”

Japan soon sought to build an empire. It successfully fought a war with China (1894–95) and with Russia (1904–05).

The Japanese government believed that expansion through military conquest would help the economy.

Under the terms of surrender, Japan had to give up all the territory it had acquired since 1895.

Japan rebuilt its ruined economy, using new technology in every major industry.

2nd place for the fastest car.

$667,321

8th fastest car in the world.

215 mph+

he 3rd most expensive car is actually fastest street legal car in the world with a top speed of 257 mph+

25 of this exact model will ever be produced.

229 mph+

it may be bought and show off to your neighbors.

The first true American production certified supercar,

4 for the fastest car in the world.

248 mph+

Swedish made,

3rd fastest car in the world with a top speed of 250 mph+

Koenigsegg

is the fastest automatic transmission car in the world with a top speed of 207 mph+

dynamic stability control and a top speed of 209 mph+

unprecedented driving feeling on the road.

many luxurious features and it was made for comfort

with sporty handling and top performance technology.

gets so hot that it can boil water into steam

team can then be used to turn a turbine to make electricity.

California's Mojave desert, there are huge rows of solar mirrors arranged in what's called "solar thermal power plants"

this idea to make electricity for more than 350,000 homes

problem with solar energy is that it works only when the sun is shining

cloudy days and at night, the power plants can't create energy.

solar plants, are a "hybrid" technology

daytime they use the sun

night and on cloudy days they burn natural gas to boil the water so they can continue to make electricity.

form of solar power plants to make electricity is called a Central Tower Power Plant, like the one to the right - the Solar Two Project.

Sunlight is reflected off 1,800 mirrors circling the tall tower

mirrors are called heliostats

move and turn to face the sun all day long

light is reflected back to the top of the tower in the center of the circle where a fluid is turned very hot by the sun's rays.

luid can be used to boil water

make steam to turn a turbine and a generator.

We can also change the sunlight directly to electricity using solar cells.

Solar cells are also called photovoltaic cells

PV cells for short

be found on many small appliances

calculators

even on spacecraft

first developed in the 1950s for use on U.S. space satellites

made of silicon, a special type of melted sand.

sunlight strikes the solar cell, electrons (red circles) are knocked loose

move toward the treated front surface (dark blue color)

electron imbalance is created between the front and back

two surfaces are joined by a connector, like a wire, a current of electricity occurs between the negative and positive sides.

individual solar cells are arranged together in a PV module and the modules are grouped together in an array.

arrays are set on special tracking devices to follow sunlight all day long.

electrical energy from solar cells can then be used directly

used in a home for lights and appliances

in a business

Solar energy can be stored in batteries to light a roadside billboard at night

energy can be stored in a battery for an emergency roadside cellular telephone when no telephone wires are around.

uel efficient cars that last a long time

engineering technology is excellent

incredible mileage

without consuming vast amounts of fuel.