Natural Gas and LNG Supply/Demand Trends in Asia Pacific and Atlantic Markets

This paper discusses a portion of the outcome of a study undertaken by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) on commission from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry under the project title of FY2007 Research for Promotion of Natural Gas Development and Utilization (Study of Natural Gas Supply and Demand Trends in Asia Pacific and Atlantic Markets). The scope of the above study included a fixed-point observation survey on the on-going status of countries that are either exporting or importing LNG as well as trends in the LNG markets, which potentially may have an impact on Japans natural gas supply and demand situation. In the following sections, an overview will be presented in sequence on the natural gas supply and demand situation, natural gas trading, the LNG chain, and LNG supply and demand balance.

化学教育における平衡をめぐる理解と誤解について

この論文では，中等高等化学教育における平衡の理解をすすめ指導法を改良するため，平衡に関連してみられる疑問や誤解や思い違いをひろくとりあげ，検討する。生徒や学生が正確に教えられていないことを示唆する思い違い，模型を採用することで生まれる誤謬，動的平衡の歴史的な文献の記述にみられる誤解の伝播，古い化学の解釈を現代化学にそのまま持ち込む誤謬，表記法があいまいなため生まれる誤解，などである。まず，平衡の確認方法を取り上げる。ここでは，系の停留性と可逆性と復帰性の意味や，系の小部分間の相互作用の理解が要点であることを示す。次に，平衡の表現法を述べる。熱力学的法則や古典的化学平衡定数にふれ，質量作用の法則に関連する誤解のゆえんを分析する。最後に，動的平衡の理解と誤解について述べる。動的平衡の説明において，演示用化学実験のみならず，よく引用される同位体交換反応実験には，うっかりする落穴があることを指摘する。こうして，化学教育において，平衡と化学平衡の何を教授し，どこに注意をはらうべきかをあきらかにしようと試みる。The concept of equilibrium in chemistry education is put forward for consideration from a standing point of view such that: It is not taught correctly to students so that several misconceptions occur; using models for it makes some mistakes; many misunderstandings in the old chemistry and in the historical literature are now circulating in modern chemistry, and so on. This paper shows that: First, a method for confirming state of equilibrium needs to understand termination, reversibility, returnability, and interaction between subsystems. Secondly, representation of equilibrium relates to the second law of thermodynamics, the classical chemical equilibrium constant, and the law of mass action. Last, there are understandings and misunderstandings of dynamic equilibrium in both chemical experiments for student demonstration and interpretation of isotope-exchange reaction. We thus try to clarify how chemical educators should pay attention to what is taught in both equilibrium and chemical equilibrium

Teaching Ratio, Proportion and Continued-Proportion between Physical Quantities

This paper describes how to bridge a gap between number and quantity ratios in science education. The concept of concentration of solution can be interpreted as a continuedproportion between mass and volume, because it looks like a class of ratios between abstract numbers in mathematics. This interpretation of concentration makes it easy for students to solve diverse problems relating to concentration. Such an approach is also applicable to solving physical and/or chemical problems concerning density and molar mass

A Listing and Equating Method for Solving Chemistry / Physics Problems

There are two methods for student exercise in chemistry/physics problem solving; one is a quantity-ratio method (QRM) that uses a ratio of physical quantities of the same kind, and the other is a formalization-and-substitution method (FSM) that substitutes data for physical quantities in formalized equations. This note shows an alternative to the two methods, hereafter called a listing-and-equating method (LEM), for solving chemistry/physics problems. The strategy of LEM is based on the fundamental equation: physical quantity = numerical value x unit. In LEM "listing" lists all the data in a given chemical/physical problem; "equating" equates two physical expressions, each of which is made up of physical quantities and/or numerical values. A two-fold meaning, which often leads chemistry/physics beginners into confusion, in formalized equations can be separated by the listing process. In the equating process of LEM no ambiguity with relation to the equality of QRM occurs. Several examples that are solvable by means of LEM are given

熱力学的物理量としての温度の導入法について

本稿では，国際単位系の基本単位ケルビンで測定される物理量，熱力学的温度の導入のための教程を考察する。この教程では，温度という物理量の存在から出発して，特別な温度である熱力学的温度の定め方，測定方法，単位の選択まで，中等高等科学教科書にみられる各種の導入法を比較吟味しながら，一貫して記述する。そこで，それぞれの導入法では，どこを省略しどこに問題点があるかなどが，あぶり出される。熱力学的温度の理解のために，学習者にとってわかりにくく注意すべき諸点を論述し明らかにする。ここまでの論証に必要な重要項目は，熱平衡状態，同値関係，可逆的Carnotサイクル，Clausiusの表現（熱力学の第2法則），Carnotの定理，気体の状態方程式，Clausiusの等式，外挿法などである。こうして，熱力学的温度を定める古典的自然科学の手法は，中等科学教育の担い手にとって一度は体験すべきものであることがわかる。A course for teaching and learning the concept of temperature as a thermodynamic quantity in science education is given. We compare with one another a variety of explanations of thermodynamic temperature used in textbooks, and construct a procedure that starts by defining what the temperature of a physical system is and that ends by showing how the thermodynamic temperature is measured. The most important concepts in this procedure are such that: Thermal equilibrium, equivalence relation, Clausius\u27 statement, reversible Carnot cycle, Carnot\u27s theorem, state equation of gas, Clausius\u27 equation, and so on. The present method makes it possible for science educators and students at the college level to establish the scientific thinking of classical natural science in themselves

Antenna-assembling mechanism test on ETS-7

The Communications Research Laboratory plans to test an antenna-assembling mechanism on the Engineering Test Satellite 7. The test is one of the application missions for the space robotics experiments that will be conducted mainly by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The purpose of the test is to verify the ability of the antenna assembling mechanism to function in space and to experiment on the teleoperation of a space robot to develop antenna-assembling technology. We present the test experiment plans and the outline of the onboard assembling mechanism