Ozu \'o-zu\ Yasujiro (b. Dec. 15, 1903, Tokyo, Japan—d. Dec. 12, 1963, Tokyo) Japanese film director. He joined the Shochiku movie stu¬ dio as a cameraman in 1923 and directed his first film three years later. He originated the genre known as shomin-geki (“common-people’s drama”), which treated lower-middle-class Japanese family life, with films such as the silent comedies I Graduated, But... (1929) and I Was Born, But... (1932) and the sound drama The Toda Brother and His Sis¬ ters (1941). His later films, noted for their detailed character portrayals, pictorial beauty, and quiet, contemplative mood, include Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953), Early Spring (1956), Late Autumn (1960), The End of Summer (1961), and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). Ozu was considered the most typically Japanese of all directors and received more honours in his own country than did any other director.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1430 I P-47 ► Pacific Ocean
P-47 or Thunderbolt Fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft used by Allied air forces in World War II. A single-seat, single-engine monoplane, it was developed in the U.S. to meet the need for a high-speed long-range fighter. First flown in 1941, it carried eight .50-caliber machine guns, had a maximum bomb load of 2,500 lbs (1,100 kg), and could carry ten 5-in. (127-mm) rockets beneath its wings. It had a maximum speed of 440 mph (700 kph) and a ceiling of 40,000 ft (12,000 m). More P-47s (15,683) were built for the Allied air services than any other fighter.
P-51 or Mustang Fighter aircraft of World War II. A single seat, single¬ engine monoplane produced for Britain’s RAF, it went into service in 1941 and later was adopted by the U.S. Army Air Force. The original P-51 had four .50-caliber and four .30-caliber machine guns and a camera for photoreconnaissance; its maximum speed was 390 mph (630 kph). The P-5 ID, a later model, had six .50-caliber machine guns and a maximum speed of 440 mph (700 kph). A superb long-range fighter, it played a sig¬ nificant part in defeating the German Luftwaffe.
p-n junction Electric contact in transistors and related devices between two different types of material calledp-type and n-type semiconductors. These materials are pure semi¬ conductor materials, such as silicon, to which impurities have been added. Materials of p- type contain “holes”
(vacancies formerly occupied by electrons) that behave like positively charged particles, whereas n-type materials con¬ tain free electrons. Electric current flows more easily across a p-n junction in one direction than in the other. If the posi¬ tive pole of a battery is connected to the p- side of the junction, and the negative pole to the n-side, charge flows across the junction. If the battery is connected in the opposite direction, very little charge can flow. The p-n junction forms the basis for computer chips, solar cells, and other electronic devices.
Paar, Jack (b. May 1, 1918, Canton, Ohio, U.S.—d. Jan. 27, 2004, Greenwich, Conn.) U.S. television talk-show host. He worked in radio in the late 1940s before hosting his first television show. Up to Paar , in 1952. As host of the late-night talk show Tonight , renamed The Jack Paar Show (1957-62), he established the now-standard format of celebrity inter¬ views, monologues, and variety skits and was noted for his witty conver¬ sation, high-strung mannerisms, and mercurial temper. He later hosted the weekly Jack Paar Program (1962-65).
Paasikivi \'pa-si-ki-ve\, Juho Kusti (b. Nov. 27, 1870, Tampere, Fin.—d. Dec. 14,1956, Helsinki) Finnish statesman. He served in the Finn¬ ish parliament (1907-13), as minister of finance (1908-09), and as inde¬ pendent Finland’s first prime minister in 1918. After World War I, he was prominent as a banker and businessman. As minister to Sweden (1936-39), he negotiated a treaty to end the Russo- Finnish War ( 1 940). After World War II, he served as Finland’s prime minister (1944-46) and later president (1946-56). While accepting the necessity of friendly relations with the Soviet Union, he was uncompromising in his defense of Finnish indepen¬ dence and resisted the growth of communist influence in Finland.
Pabst Ypapst\, G(eorg) W(ilhelm) (b. Aug. 27, 1885, Raudnice, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary—d. May 29, 1967, Vienna, Austria) German film director. He toured Europe as an actor from age 20 and was direct¬ ing plays by 1912. He later directed films in Berlin, beginning with The Treasure (1923) and continuing with The Joyless Street (1925), Secrets of a Soul (1926), and The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927). His masterpieces, Pandora’s Box (1929) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), both starred Lou¬ ise Brooks. Later films include Kameradschaft (1931) and The Threepenny Opera (1931). He moved to France in 1933 and to Austria after World War II. His films were among the most artistically successful of the 1920s, marked by social and political concerns and deep psychological insight.
PAC See political action committee
pacemaker Source of rhythmic electrical impulses that trigger heart contractions. In the heart’s electrical system, impulses generated at a natu¬ ral pacemaker are conducted to the atria and ventricles. Heart surgery or certain diseases can interrupt conduction (heart block), requiring use of a temporary or permanent artificial pacemaker. A small electrode attached to an electric generator outside the body is threaded through a vein into the heart. The generator, inserted beneath the skin, produces regular pulses of electric charge to maintain the heartbeat. Permanent pacemakers can also be implanted on the heart’s surface.
Pachacamac \pa-'cha-ka-,mak\ Site of a pre-Incan city, southeast of Lima, Peru. It has remains of a temple to the god Pachacamac, a later Incan Temple of the Sun, and the ruins of the surrounding city. The earlier temple and terraced adobe pyramid date from c. 200 bc to ad 600. The city was sacked by Spanish soldiers under Francisco Pizarro c. 1523 and is now occupied by the village of La Mamacoma.
Pachelbel \pak-'el-,bel,\ English Vpa-kol-.belX, Johann (baptized Sept. 1, 1653, Niimberg—d. March 3, 1706, Niimberg) German composer and organist. Conservative musically, he was friendly with Dietrich Bux¬ tehude and was the teacher of Johann Christoph Bach, who later gave les¬ sons to his younger brother Johann Sebastian Bach. Though he wrote a huge amount of music, of which his organ chorale variations and Magnificat settings are especially remarkable, he is principally known today for a single piece, the extremely popular Canon in D Major, which he may not have written.
Pacher Vpak-orX, Michael (b. c. 1435, County of Tirol—d. August 1498, Salzburg?, Archbishopric of Salzburg) Austrian painter and sculptor. His colossal altarpiece for the Pilgrimage Church of St. Wolfgang in Upper Austria (1479-81) is a masterpiece of late Gothic painting, sculpture, and architecture. The painted panels, with their deep architectural perspective and dramatic foreshortening, indicate a knowledge of Andrea Mantegna. The sculptural portions, with their intricate detail, bright polychrome, and sweeping draperies, show his attachment to northern traditions; and the architectural elements show an extravagant version of the late Gothic style. Pacher was one of the earliest artists to introduce the principles of Renaissance painting into German-speaking regions.
Pachuca in full Pachuca de Soto City (pop., 2000: 231,602), capi¬ tal of Hidalgo state, central Mexico. Founded in 1534, it was one of the first settlements in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It lies in a rich mining area in the Sierra Madre Oriental, roughly 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above sea level. Its silver mines date from the 16th century, when the Mexican pro¬ cess of separating silver from the ore by amalgamation with mercury was perfected there. Industries include smelting works and metallic-ore reduc¬ tion plants.