In April of 1887, Tesla began investigating what would later be called X-rays using his own single node vacuum tubes (similar to his patent  ). This device differed from other early X-ray tubes in that they had no target electrode. The modern term for the phenomenon produced by this device is bremsstrahlung (or braking radiation). We now know that this device operated by emitting electrons from the single electrode through a combination of field emission and thermionic emission. Once liberated, electrons are strongly repelled by the high electric field near the electrode during negative voltage peaks from the oscillating HV output of the Tesla Coil, generating X-rays as they collide with the glass envelope. He also used Geissler tubes. By 1892, Tesla became aware of what Wilhelm RÃ¶ntgen later identified as effects of X-rays.


892, Tesla became aware of what Wilhelm RÃ¶ntgen later identified as effects of X-rays.


In the early research, Tesla devised several experimental setups to produce X-rays. Tesla held that, with his circuits, the "instrument will [... enable one to] generate Roentgen rays of much greater power than obtainable with ordinary apparatus." N. Tesla, "High frequency oscillators for electro-therapeutic and other purposes".  Proceedings of the American Electro-Therapeutic Association, American Electro-Therapeutic Association. Page 25.


He also commented on the hazards of working with his circuit and single node X-ray producing devices. Of his many notes in the early investigation of this phenomenon, he attributed the skin damage to various causes. One of the options for the cause, which is not in conformity with current facts, was that the ozone generated rather than the radiation was responsible. He early on stated,


Tesla later stated,


Tesla continued research in the field and, later, observed an assistant severely "burnt" by X-rays in his lab. He performed several experiments prior to Roentgen's discovery (including photographing the bones of his hand; later, he sent these images to Roentgen) but didn't make his findings widely known; much of his research was lost in the 5th Avenue lab fire of March 1895.


A "world system" for "the transmission of electrical energy without wires" that depends upon the electrical conductivity was proposed in which transmission in various natural mediums with current that passes between the two point are used to power devices. In a practical wireless energy transmission system using this principle, a high-power ultraviolet beam might be used to form a vertical ionized channel in the air directly above the transmitter-receiver stations. The same concept is used in virtual lightning rods, the electrolaser electroshock weapon,  A Survey of Laser Lightning Rod Techniques - Barnes, Arnold A., Jr. ; Berthel, Robert O.


and has been proposed for disabling vehicles.  Frequently Asked Questions - HSV Technologies   Vehicle Disabling Weapon by Peter A. Schlesinger, President, HSV Technologies, Inc. -  NDIA Non-Lethal Defense IV 20-22 Mar 2000


Tesla demonstrated "the transmission of electrical energy without wires" that depends upon electrical conductivity as early as 1891. The Tesla effect (named in honor of Tesla) is the archaic term for an application of this type of electrical conduction (that is, the movement of energy through space and matter; not just the production of voltage across a conductor). Norrie, H. S., "Induction Coils: How to make, use, and repair them". Norman H. Schneider, 1907, New York. 4th edition.


Wireless transmission of power and energy demonstration during his high frequency and potential lecture of 1891.


On July 30, 1891, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States at the age of 35. Tesla established his 35 South Fifth Avenue laboratory in New York during this same year. Later, Tesla would establish his Houston Street laboratory in New York at 46 E. Houston Street. There, at one point while conducting mechanical resonance experiments with electro-mechanical oscillators he generated a resonance of several surrounding buildings, but ironically due to the frequencies involved, not his own building, causing complaints to the police. As the speed grew he hit the resonant frequency of his own building and belatedly realizing the danger he was forced to apply a sledge hammer to terminate the experiment, just as the astonished police arrived. O'Neill, "Prodigal Genius" pp162-164


ed. O'Neill, "Prodigal Genius" pp162-164


He also lit vacuum tubes wirelessly at both of the New York locations, providing evidence for the potential of wireless power transmission. Krumme, Katherine,  Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla: Thunder and Lightning. December 4, 2000 (PDF)


Some of Tesla's closest friends were artists. He befriended Century Magazine editor Robert Underwood Johnson, who adapted several Serbian poems of Jovan JovanoviÄ Zmaj (which Tesla translated). Also during this time, Tesla was influenced by the Vedic philosophy teachings of the Swami Vivekananda. Grotz, Toby, " The Influence of Vedic Philosophy on Nikola Tesla's Understanding of Free Energy".


Nikola Tesla's AC dynamo used to generate AC which is used to transport electricity across great distances. It is contained in  .


When Tesla was 36 years old, the first patents concerning the polyphase power system were granted. He continued research of the system and rotating magnetic field principles. Tesla served, from 1892 to 1894, as the vice president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the forerunner (along with the Institute of Radio Engineers) of the modern-day IEEE. From 1893 to 1895, he investigated high frequency alternating currents. He generated AC of one million volts using a conical Tesla coil and investigated the skin effect in conductors, designed tuned circuits, invented a machine for inducing sleep, cordless gas discharge lamps, and transmitted electromagnetic energy without wires, building the first radio transmitter. In St. Louis, Missouri, Tesla made a demonstration related to radio communication in 1893. Addressing the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the N


Missouri, Tesla made a demonstration related to radio communication in 1893. Addressing the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the National Electric Light Association, he described and demonstrated in detail its principles. Tesla's demonstrations were written about widely through various media outlets. Tesla also investigated harvesting energy that is present throughout space. He believed that it was just merely a question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature, stating:


At the 1893 World's Fair, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, an international exposition was held which for the first time devoted a building to electrical exhibits. It was an historic event as Tesla and George Westinghouse introduced visitors to AC power by using it to illuminate the Exposition. On display were Tesla's fluorescent lamps and single node bulbs. Tesla also explained the principles of the rotating magnetic field and induction motor by demonstrating how to make an egg made of copper stand on end in his demonstration of the device he constructed known as the "Egg of Columbus".


Also in the late 1880s, Tesla and Edison became adversaries in part due to Edison's promotion of direct current (DC) for electric power distribution over the more efficient alternating current advocated by Tesla and Westinghouse. Until Tesla invented the induction motor, AC's advantages for long distance high voltage transmission were counterbalanced by the inability to operate motors on AC. As a result of the "War of Currents," Edison and Westinghouse went nearly bankrupt, so in 1897, Tesla released Westinghouse from contract, providing Westinghouse a break from Tesla's patent royalties. Also in 1897, Tesla researched radiation which led to setting up the basic formulation of cosmic rays. Waser, AndrÃ©, "Nikola Teslaâs Radiations and the Cosmic Rays".


Cosmic Rays".


When Tesla was forty-one years old, he filed the first basic radio patent ( ). A year later, he demonstrated a radio controlled boat to the US military, believing that the military would want things such as radio controlled torpedoes. Tesla had developed the "Art of Telautomatics", a form of robotics, as well as the technology of remote control. Tesla, Nikola, " My Inventions", Electrical Experimenter magazine, Feb, June, and Oct, 1919. ISBN (teslaplay.comversion;  also the version at rastko.org)  In 1898, a radio-controlled boat was demonstrated to the public during an electrical exhibition at Madison Square Garden. These devices had an innovative coherer and a series of logic gates. Tesla called his boat a "teleautomaton" and said of it, "You see there the first of a race of robots, mechanical men which will do the laborious work of the human race." Jonnes, Jill. Empires of Light ISBN


"You see there the first of a race of robots, mechanical men which will do the laborious work of the human race." Jonnes, Jill. Empires of Light ISBN 0-375-75884-4. Page 355, referencing O'Neill, John J., Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla (New York: David McKay, 1944), p.167.  Radio remote control remained a novelty until the 1960s. In the same year, Tesla devised an "electric igniter" or spark plug for Internal combustion gasoline engines. He gained  , "Electrical Igniter for Gas Engines", on this mechanical ignition system. Tesla lived in the former Gerlach Hotel, renamed The Radio Wave building, at 49 W 27th St. (between Broadway and Sixth Avenue), Lower Manhattan, before the end of the century where he conducted the radio wave experiments. A commemorative plaque was placed on the building in 1977 to honor his work.


xperiments. A commemorative plaque was placed on the building in 1977 to honor his work.


In 1899, Tesla decided to move and began research in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he would have room for his high-voltage, high-frequency experiments. Upon his arrival he told reporters that he was conducting wireless telegraphy experiments transmitting signals from Pikes Peak to Paris. Tesla's diary contains explanations of his experiments concerning the ionosphere and the ground's telluric currents via transverse waves and longitudinal waves. Tesla, Nikola, "The True Wireless". Electrical Experimenter, May 1919. ( also at pbs.org)


At his lab, Tesla proved that the earth was a conductor, and he produced artificial lightning (with discharges consisting of millions of volts, and up to 135 feet long). Gillispie, Charles Coulston, "Dictionary of Scientific Biography"; Tesla, Nikola. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. ISBN


Tesla also investigated atmospheric electricity, observing lightning signals via his receivers. Reproductions of Tesla's receivers and coherer circuits show an unpredicted level of complexity (e.g., distributed high-Q helical resonators, radio frequency feedback, crude heterodyne effects, and regeneration techniques). Corum, K. L., J. F. Corum, and A. H. Aidinejad, "Atmospheric Fields, Tesla's Receivers and Regenerative Detectors". 1994.


Tesla stated that he observed stationary waves during this time. Corum, K. L., J. F. Corum, "Nikola Tesla, Lightning Observations, and Stationary Waves". 1994.


Tesla researched ways to transmit power and energy wirelessly over long distances (via transverse waves, to a lesser extent, and, more readily, longitudinal waves). He transmitted extremely low frequencies through the ground as well as between the earth's surface and the Kennelly-Heaviside layer. He received patents on wireless transceivers that developed standing waves by this method. In his experiments, he made mathematical calculations and computations based on his experiments and discovered that the resonant frequency of the Earth was approximately 8 Hertz (Hz). In the 1950s, researchers confirmed that the resonant frequency of the Earth's ionospheric cavity was in this range (later named the Schumann resonance).


In the Colorado Springs lab, Tesla observed unusual signals that he later thought may have been evidence of extraterrestrial radio communications coming from Venus or Mars. Tesla, Nikola, " Talking with Planets". Collier's Weekly, February 19, 1901. (EarlyRadioHistory.us)


He noticed repetitive signals from his receiver which were substantially different from the signals he had noted from storms and earth noise. Specifically, he later recalled that the signals appeared in groups of one, two, three, and four clicks together. Tesla had mentioned before this event and many times after that he thought his inventions could be used to talk with other planets. There have even been claims that he invented a "Teslascope" for just such a purpose. It is debatable what type of signals Tesla received or whether he picked up anything at all. Research has suggested that Tesla may have had a misunderstanding of the new technology he was working with,


or that the signals Tesla observed may have simply been an observation of a non-terrestrial natural radio source such as the Jovian plasma torus signals.


Tesla left Colorado Springs on January 7, 1900. The lab was torn down and its contents sold to pay debts. The Colorado experiments prepared Tesla for his next project, the establishment of a wireless power transmission facility that would be known as Wardenclyffe. Tesla was granted   for the means of increasing the intensity of electrical oscillations. The United States Patent Office classification system currently assigns this patent to the primary Class 178/43 ("telegraphy/space induction"), although the other applicable classes include 505/825 ("low temperature superconductivity-related apparatus").


In 1900, with $150,000 (51% from J. Pierpont Morgan), Tesla began planning the Wardenclyffe Tower facility. In June 1902, Tesla's lab operations were moved to Wardenclyffe from Houston Street. The tower was finally dismantled for scrap during World War I. Newspapers of the time labeled Wardenclyffe "Tesla's million-dollar folly." In 1904, the US Patent Office reversed its decision and awarded Guglielmo Marconi the patent for radio, and Tesla began his fight to re-acquire the radio patent. On his 50th birthday in 1906, Tesla demonstrated his 200 hp (150 kW) 16,000 rpm bladeless turbine. During 1910 1911 at the Waterside Power Station in New York, several of his bladeless turbine engines were tested at 100 5000 hp.


Since the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marconi for radio in 1909, Thomas Edison and Tesla were mentioned as potential laureates to share the Nobel Prize of 1915 in a press dispatch, leading to one of several Nobel Prize controversies. Some sources have claimed that due to their animosity toward each other neither was given the award, despite their enormous scientific contributions, and that each sought to minimize the other one's achievements and right to win the award, that both refused to ever accept the award if the other received it first, and that both rejected any possibility of sharing it.  O'Neill, "Prodigal Genius" pp228-229


In the following events after the rumors, neither Tesla nor Edison won the prize (although Edison did receive one of 38 possible bids in 1915, and Tesla did receive one bid out of 38 in 1937). Seifer, "Wizard" pp378-380


Earlier, Tesla alone was rumored to have been nominated for the Nobel Prize of 1912. The rumored nomination was primarily for his experiments with tuned circuits using high-voltage high-frequency resonant transformers.


In 1915, Tesla filed a lawsuit against Marconi attempting, unsuccessfully, to obtain a court injunction against the claims of Marconi. After Wardenclyffe, Tesla built the Telefunken Wireless Station in Sayville, Long Island. Some of what he wanted to achieve at Wardenclyffe was accomplished with the Telefunken Wireless. In 1917, the facility was seized and torn down by the Marines, because it was suspected that it could be used by German spies.


Prior to World War I, Tesla looked overseas for investors to fund his research. When the war started, Tesla lost the funding he was receiving from his European patents. After the war ended, Tesla made predictions regarding the relevant issues of the post-World War I environment, in a printed article (December 20, 1914). Tesla believed that the League of Nations was not a remedy for the times and issues. Tesla started to exhibit pronounced symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the years following. He became obsessed with the number three; he often felt compelled to walk around a block three times before entering a building, demanded a stack of three folded, cloth napkins beside his plate at every meal, etc. The nature of OCD was little understood at the time and no treatments were available, so his symptoms were considered by some to be evidence of partial insanity, and this undoub


e understood at the time and no treatments were available, so his symptoms were considered by some to be evidence of partial insanity, and this undoubtedly hurt what was left of his reputation.


At this time, he was staying at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, renting in an arrangement for deferred payments. Eventually, the Wardenclyffe deed was turned over to George Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria to pay a $20,000 debt. In 1917, around the time that the Wardenclyffe Tower was demolished by Boldt to make the land a more viable real estate asset, Tesla received AIEE's highest honor, the Edison Medal.


Tesla, in August 1917, first established principles regarding frequency and power level for the first primitive RADAR units. Page, R.M., "The Early History of RADAR", Proceedings of the IRE, Volume 50, Number 5, May, 1962, (special 50th Anniversary Issue).


In 1934, Ãmile Girardeau, working with the first French RADAR systems, stated he was building RADAR systems "conceived according to the principles stated by Tesla". By the twenties, Tesla was reportedly negotiating with the United Kingdom government about a ray system. Tesla had also stated that efforts had been made to steal the so called "death ray". It is suggested that the removal of the Chamberlain government ended negotiations.


On Tesla's seventy-fifth birthday in 1931, Time magazine put him on its cover.


The cover caption noted his contribution to electrical power generation. Tesla received his last patent in 1928 for an apparatus for aerial transportation which was the first instance of VTOL aircraft. In 1934, Tesla wrote to consul JankoviÄ of his homeland. The letter contained the message of gratitude to Mihajlo Pupin who initiated a donation scheme by which American companies could support Tesla. Tesla refused the assistance, and chose to live by a modest pension received from Yugoslavia and to continue researching.


In 1936, Tesla stated "I'm equally proud of my Serbian origin and my Croatian homeland."  Tesla's response to Vlatko MaÄek in 1936


When he was eighty-one, Tesla stated he had completed a dynamic theory of gravity. He stated that it was "worked out in all details" and that he hoped to soon give it to the world.  Prepared Statement by Nikola Tesla downloadable from www.tesla.hu


The theory was never published. At the time of his announcement, it was considered by the scientific establishment to exceed the bounds of reason. Some believe that Tesla never fully developed the Unified Field Theory.


The bulk of the theory was developed between 1892 and 1894, during the period that he was conducting experiments with high frequency and high potential electromagnetism and patenting devices for their utilization. It was completed, according to Tesla, by the end of the 1930s. Tesla's theory explained gravity using electrodynamics consisting of transverse waves (to a lesser extent) and longitudinal waves (for the majority). Reminiscent of Mach's principle, Tesla stated in 1925 that:


Nikola Tesla, with Rudjer Boscovich's book Theoria Philosophiae Naturalis, sits in front of the spiral coil of his high-frequency transformer at East Houston Street, New York.


Tesla was critical of Einstein's relativity work, calling it:


Tesla also argued:


Tesla, also believed that much of Albert Einstein's relativity theory had already been proposed by RuÄer BoÅ¡koviÄ, stating in an unpublished interview:


Later in life, Tesla made some remarkable claims concerning a "teleforce" weapon. "Tesla's Ray". Time, July 23, 1934.


The press called it a "peace ray" or death ray. "Tesla, at 78, Bares New 'Death-Beam"', New York Times, July 11, 1934.   "Tesla Invents Peace Ray". New York Sun, July 10, 1934.


In total, the components and methods included: "Death-Ray Machine Described", New York Sun, July 11, 1934.   "A Machine to End War". Feb. 1935.


# An apparatus for producing manifestations of energy in free air instead of in a high vacuum as in the past. This, according to Tesla in 1934, was accomplished.


# A mechanism for generating tremendous electrical force. This, according to Tesla, was also accomplished.


# A means of intensifying and amplifying the force developed by the second mechanism.


# A new method for producing a tremendous electrical repelling force. This would be the projector, or gun, of the invention.


Tesla worked on plans for a directed-energy weapon between the early 1900s till the time of his death. In 1937, Tesla composed a treatise entitled "The Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-dispersive Energy through the Natural Media" concerning charged particle beams.  Seifer, Marc J., "Wizard, the Life and Times of Nikola Tesla". ISBN (HC) pg. 454


Tesla published the document in an attempt to expound on the technical description of a "superweapon that would put an end to all war". This treatise of the particle beam is currently in the Nikola Tesla Museum archive in Belgrade. It described an open ended vacuum tube with a gas jet seal that allowed particles to exit, a method of charging particles to millions of volts, and a method of creating and directing nondispersive particle streams (through electrostatic repulsion).  Seifer, "Wizard" pg. 454


Records of his indicate that it was based on a narrow stream of atomic clusters of liquid mercury or tungsten accelerated via high voltage (by means akin to his magnifying transformer). Tesla gave the following description concerning the particle gun's operation:


The weapon could be used against ground based infantry or for antiaircraft purposes. "'Death Ray' for Planes". New York Times, September 22, 1940.


Tesla tried to interest the US War Department in the device. "Aerial Defense 'Death-Beam' Offered to U. S. By Tesla" July 12, 1940


He also offered this invention to European countries.  O'Neill, John J., " Tesla Tries To Prevent World War II". (unpublished Chapter 34 of Prodigal Genius) (PBS)


None of the governments purchased a contract to build the device. He was unable to act on his plans.  Velox,  Particle beam weapon. everything2.com


Tesla began to theorize about electricity and magnetism's power to warp, or rather change, space and time and the procedure by which man could forcibly control this power. Near the end of his life, Tesla was fascinated with the idea of light as both a particle and a wave, a fundamental proposition already incorporated into quantum physics. This field of inquiry led to the idea of creating a "wall of light" by manipulating electromagnetic waves in a certain pattern. This mysterious wall of light would enable time, space, gravity and matter to be altered at will, and engendered an array of Tesla proposals that seem to leap straight out of science fiction, including anti-gravity airships, teleportation, and time travel. The single strangest invention Tesla ever proposed was probably the "thought photography" machine. He reasoned that a thought formed in the mind created a corresponding imag


vention Tesla ever proposed was probably the "thought photography" machine. He reasoned that a thought formed in the mind created a corresponding image in the retina, and the electrical data of this neural transmission could be read and recorded in a machine. The stored information could then be processed through an artificial optic nerve and played back as visual patterns on a viewscreen.


Another of Tesla's theorized inventions is commonly referred to as Tesla's Flying Machine, which appears to resemble an ion-propelled aircraft. Tesla claimed that one of his life goals was to create a flying machine that would run without the use of an airplane engine, wings, ailerons, propellers, or an onboard fuel source. Initially, Tesla pondered about the idea of a flying craft that would fly using an electric motor powered by grounded base stations. As time progressed, Tesla suggested that perhaps such an aircraft could be run entirely electro-mechanically. The theorized appearance would typically take the form of a cigar or saucer.


Bust of Tesla by Ivan MeÅ¡troviÄ, 1952, in Zagreb, Croatia


Tesla died of heart failure alone in the New Yorker Hotel, some time between the evening of January 5 and the morning of January 8, 1943, at the age of 86.    Despite selling his AC electricity patents, Tesla was destitute and died with significant debts. Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent number   in effect recognizing him as the inventor of radio.


Immediately after Tesla's death became known, the Federal Bureau of Investigation instructed the government's Alien Property Custodian office to take possession of his papers and property, despite his US citizenship. His safe at the hotel was also opened. At the time of his death, Tesla had been continuing work on the teleforce weapon, or death ray, that he had unsuccessfully marketed to the US War Department. It appears that his proposed death ray was related to his research into ball lightning and plasma and was imagined as a particle beam weapon. The US government did not find a prototype of the device in the safe. After the FBI was contacted by the War Department, his papers were declared to be top secret. The so-called "peace ray" constitutes a part of some conspiracy theories as a means of destruction. The personal effects were seized on the advice of presidential advisers, and J.


titutes a part of some conspiracy theories as a means of destruction. The personal effects were seized on the advice of presidential advisers, and J. Edgar Hoover declared the case "most secret", because of the nature of Tesla's inventions and patents. Hoover, John Edgar, et al.,  FOIA FBI files, 1943.


One document states that "[he] is reported to have some 80 trunks in different places containing transcripts and plans having to do with his experiments [...]". Charlotte Muzar reported that there were several "missing" papers and property.


Statue of Nikola Tesla in Niagara Falls State Park on Goat Island, New York; There is another statue with Tesla standing in Queen Victoria Park on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.


Tesla's family and the Yugoslav embassy struggled with the American authorities to gain these items after his death due to the potential significance of some of his research. Eventually, his nephew, Sava KosanoviÄ, got possession of some of his personal effects which are now housed in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia.  Nikola Tesla Museum


Tesla's funeral took place on January 12, 1943, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His ashes were taken to Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1957. The urn was placed in the Nikola Tesla Museum, where it resides to this day.


Tesla did not like to pose for portraits. He did it only once for princess Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy (1863-1923). The portrait survived in the collection of Ludwig Nissen, Brooklyn, see: Klaus Lengsfeld: Sammlung Ludwig Nissen : Husum 1855 - 1924 New York; Dokumentation d. Kunstsammlung Ludwig Nissens anlÃ¤ssl. d. Ausstellung zu seinem 125. Geburtstag im Nissenhaus zu Husum, 1980, 169 S. (= Schriften des Nordfriesischen Museums Ludwig-Nissen-Haus, Nr. 16)  His wish was to have a sculpture made by his close friend Ivan MeÅ¡troviÄ, who was at that time in United States, but he died before getting a chance to see it. MeÅ¡troviÄ made a bronze bust (1952) that is held in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade and a statue (1955/56) placed at the RuÄer BoÅ¡koviÄ Institute in Zagreb. This statue was moved to Nikola Tesla Street in Zagreb's city centre on the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth, with


r BoÅ¡koviÄ Institute in Zagreb. This statue was moved to Nikola Tesla Street in Zagreb's city centre on the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth, with the RuÄer BoÅ¡koviÄ Institute to receive a duplicate.


In 1976, a bronze statue of Tesla was placed at Niagara Falls, New York. A similar statue was also erected in his hometown of GospiÄ in 1986.


The SI unit tesla (T) for measuring magnetic flux density or magnetic induction (commonly known as the magnetic field  B\, ) was named in Teslaâs honour at the ConfÃ©rence GÃ©nÃ©rale des Poids et Mesures, Paris in 1960. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) of which Tesla had been vice president also created an award in recognition of Tesla. Called the IEEE Nikola Tesla Award, it is given to individuals or a team that has made outstanding contributions to the generation or utilization of electric power, and is considered the most prestigious award in the area of electric power. IEEE, " IEEE Nikola Tesla Award. April 01, 2005.


The Tesla crater on the far side of the Moon and the minor planet 2244 Tesla are also named after him.


[[Image:100RSD front.jpg|thumb|left|200px|100 Serbian dinar banknote obverse.


Photo courtesy of National Bank of Serbia.  National Bank of Serbia  ]]


100 Serbian dinars banknote reverse. Note the drawing of the electric motor.


Tesla has received many recognitions within Serbia. He is featured on the current 100 Serbian dinar note (see left). The largest power plant complex in Serbia, the TPP Nikola Tesla is named in his honour. On July 10, 2006 the biggest airport in Serbia (Belgrade) was renamed Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport in honor of Teslaâs 150th birthday.


An electric car company, Tesla Motors, named their company in tribute to Nikola Tesla. Their website states: The namesake of our Tesla Roadster is the genius Nikola Tesla [...] Weâre confident that if he were alive today, Nikola Tesla would look over our car and nod his head with both understanding and approval.  Why the Name "Tesla"?, Tesla Motors, Inc., 2006


The Croatian subsidiary of Ericsson is also named 'Ericsson Nikola Tesla d.d'. ('Nikola Tesla' was a phone hardware company in Zagreb before Ericsson bought it in the 1990s) in honour of Nikola Tesla's pioneering work in wireless communication.


The year 2006 was celebrated by UNESCO as the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla, scientist (1856-1943), as well as being proclaimed by the governments of Croatia and Serbia to be the Year of Tesla. On this anniversary, July 10 2006, the renovated village of Smiljan (which had been demolished during the wars of the 1990s) was opened to the public along with Tesla's house (as a memorial museum) and a new multimedia center dedicated to the life and work of Nikola Tesla. The parochial church of St. Peter and Paul, where Tesla's father had held services, was renovated as well. The museum and multimedia center are filled with replicas of Tesla's work. The museum has collected almost all of the papers ever published by, and about, Nikola Tesla; most of these provided by Ljubo Vujovic from the Tesla Memorial Society.


ola Tesla; most of these provided by Ljubo Vujovic from the Tesla Memorial Society.


in New York. Alongside Tesla's house, a monument created by sculptor Mile Blazevic has been erected. In the nearby city of GospiÄ, on the same date as the reopening of the renovated village and museums, a higher education school named Nikola Tesla was opened, and a replica of the statue of Tesla made by Frano Krsinic (the original is in Belgrade) was presented.


In the years after, many of his innovations, theories and claims have been used, at times unsuitably and with some controversy, to support various fringe theories that are regarded as unscientific. Most of Tesla's own work conformed with the principles and methods accepted by science, but his extravagant personality and sometimes unrealistic claims, combined with his unquestionable genius, have made him a popular figure among fringe theorists and believers in conspiracies about 'hidden knowledge'. Some conspiracy theorists even in his time believed that he was actually an angelic being from Venus sent to Earth to reveal scientific knowledge to humanity.


Tesla was fluent in many languages. Along with Serbo-Croatian, he also spoke seven other foreign languages: Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Latin.


Tesla may have suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder,  Kerryr.net


and had many unusual quirks and phobias. He did things in threes, and was adamant about staying in a hotel room with a number divisible by three. Tesla was also noted to be physically revolted by jewelry, notably pearl earrings. He was fastidious about cleanliness and hygiene, and was by all accounts germaphobic. He greatly disliked touching round objects and human hair other than his own.


Tesla was obsessed with pigeons, ordering special seeds for the pigeons he fed in Central Park and even bringing some into his hotel room with him. Tesla was an animal-lover, often reflecting contentedly about a childhood cat, "The Magnificent Macak". Tesla never married. He was celibate and claimed that his chastity was very helpful to his scientific abilities.


Nonetheless there have been numerous accounts of women vying for Tesla's affection, even some madly in love with him. Tesla, though polite, behaved rather ambivalently to these women in the romantic sense.


Tesla was prone to alienating himself and was generally soft-spoken. However, when he did engage in a social life, many people spoke very positively and admiringly of him. Robert Underwood Johnson described him as attaining a "distinguished sweetness, sincerity, modesty, refinement, generosity, and force..." His loyal secretary, Dorothy Skerrit, wrote "his genial smile and nobility of bearing always denoted the gentlemanly characteristics that were so ingrained in his soul." Tesla's friend Hawthorne wrote that, "seldom did one meet a scientist or engineer who was also a poet, a philosopher, an appreciator of fine music, a linguist, and a connoisseur of food and drink."


Nevertheless, Tesla displayed the occasional cruel streak; he openly expressed his disgust for overweight people, once firing a secretary because of her weight.   He was quick to criticize others' clothing as well, demanding a subordinate to go home and change her dress on several occasions.


Tesla was widely known for his great showmanship, presenting his innovations and demonstrations to the public as an artform, almost like a magician. This seems to conflict with his observed reclusiveness; Tesla was a complicated figure. He refused to hold conventions without his Tesla coil blasting electricity throughout the room, despite the audience often being terrified, though he assured them everything was perfectly safe.


Mark Twain in Nikola Tesla's lab, spring 1894


In middle age, Nikola Tesla became very close friends with Mark Twain. They spent a lot of time together in his lab and elsewhere.


Tesla remained bitter in the aftermath of his incident with Edison. The day after Edison died the New York Times contained extensive coverage of Edison's life, with the only negative opinion coming from Tesla, who was quoted as saying,   Shortly before Edison died, he said that his biggest mistake he had made was in trying to develop directed current, rather than the vastly superior alternating current system that Tesla had put within his grasp.


Tesla was good friends with Robert Underwood Johnson. He had amicable relations with Francis Marion Crawford, Stanford White, Fritz Lowenstein, George Scherff, and Kenneth Swezey. Tesla made his first million at the age of forty, but gave away nearly all his royalties on future innovations. Tesla was rather financially inept, but he was almost entirely unconcerned with material wealth. He ripped up a Westinghouse contract that would have made him the world's first billionaire, in part because of the implications it would have on his future vision of free power, and in part because it would run Westinghouse out of business, and Tesla had no desire to deal with the creditors.


Tesla lived the last ten years of his life in a two-room suite on the 33rd floor of the Hotel New Yorker, room 3327. There, near the end of his life, when Tesla was slipping into what many consider an altered state of mind, he would claim to be visited by a specific white pigeon daily. Several biographers note that Tesla viewed the death of the pigeon as a "final blow" to himself and his work.


Tesla believed that war could not be avoided until the cause for its recurrence was removed, but was opposed to wars in general. Secor, H. Winfield, " Tesla's views on Electricity and the War", Electrical Experimenter, Volume 5, Number 4, August, 1917.


He sought to reduce distance, such as in communication for better understanding, transportation, and transmission of energy, as a means to ensure friendly international relations. " Giant Eye to See Round the World" Albany Telegram, February 25, 1923 (doc).


Like many of his era, Tesla, a life-long bachelor, became a proponent of a self-imposed selective breeding version of eugenics. In a 1937 interview, he stated,


In 1926, Tesla commented on the ills of the social subservience of women and the struggle of women toward gender equality, indicated that humanity's future would be run by "Queen Bees". He believed that women would become the dominant sex in the future. Kennedy, John B., " When woman is boss, An interview with Nikola Tesla". Colliers, January 30, 1926.


In his later years Tesla became a vegetarian. In an article for Century Illustrated Magazine he wrote: "It is certainly preferable to raise vegetables, and I think, therefore, that vegetarianism is a commendable departure from the established barbarous habit." Tesla argued that it is wrong to eat uneconomic meat when large numbers of people are starving; he also believed that plant food was "superior to it [meat] in regard to both mechanical and mental performance." He also argued that animal slaughter was "wanton and cruel". Nikola Tesla, " The Problem of Increasing Human Energy". Century Illustrated Magazine, June 1900.


In his final years he suffered from extreme sensitivity to light, sound and other influences. O'Neill, "Prodigal Genius" (extract at  Electrosensitivity.org - Q&A)


A monument to Tesla was established at Niagara Falls, New York, USA. The monument was officially unveiled on Sunday, July 9, 2006 on the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth. The Monument was sponsored by St. George Serbian Church, Niagara Falls, and designed by Les Drysdale of Hamilton, Ontario. Mr. Drysdale's design was the winning design from an international competition. Another monument to Tesla, featuring him standing on a portion of an alternator, was established at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.


A number of live theatrical plays based on Tesla's life have been produced and staged worldwide.


*The Canadian theatrical company Electric Company Theatre took its stage production  Brilliant! The Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla on tour first starting in 1996.  In August 2007, their production was again listed on their current performance schedule.


* Margaret Cheney, Robert Uth, and Jim Glenn, "Tesla, Master of Lightning", published by Barnes & Noble, 1999. ISBN 0760710058.


* Germano, Frank, " Dr. Nikola Tesla". Frank. Germano.com.


* Lomas, Robert, " The Man who Invented the Twentieth Century". Lecture to South Western Branch of Instititute of Physics.


* Penner, John R.H.  The Strange Life of Nikola Tesla, corrupted version of My Inventions.


* Pratt, H., "Nikola Tesla 1856 1943", Proceedings of the IRE, Vol. 44, September, 1956.


* " Nikola Tesla". IEEE History Center, 2005.


* Weisstein, Eric W., " Tesla, Nikola (1856 1943)". Eric Weisstein's World of Science.


* "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature",  Moon Nomenclature: Crater. USGS, Astrogeology Research Program.


* Dimitrijevic, Milan S., "Belgrade Astronomical Observatory Historical Review". Publ. Astron. Obs. Belgrade,), 162 170. Also, "Srpski asteroidi,  Tesla". Astronomski magazine.


* Hoover, John Edgar, et al.,  FOIA FBI files, 1943.


* Roguin, Ariel, "Historical Note: Nikola Tesla: The man behind the magnetic field unit". J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;19:369 374. Â© 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


* Secor, H. Winfield, "Tesla's views on Electricity and the War", Electrical Experimenter, Volume 5, Number 4, August, 1917.


* Florey, Glen, "Tesla and the Military". Engineering 24, December 5, 2000.


* Corum, K. L., J. F. Corum, "Nikola Tesla, Lightning Observations, and Stationary Waves". 1994.


* Corum, K. L., J. F. Corum, and A. H. Aidinejad, "Atmospheric Fields, Tesla's Receivers and Regenerative Detectors". 1994.


* Meyl, Konstantin, H. Weidner, E. Zentgraf, T. Senkel, T. Junker, and P. Winkels, "Experiments to proof the evidence of scalar waves Tests with a Tesla reproduction". Institut fÃ¼r Gravitationsforschung (IGF), Am Heerbach 5, D-63857 Waldaschaff.


* Anderson, L. I., "John Stone Stone on Nikola Teslaâs Priority in Radio and Continuous Wave Radiofrequency Apparatus". The Antique Wireless Association Review, Vol. 1, 1986, pp. 18 41.


* Anderson, L. I., "Priority in Invention of Radio, Tesla v. Marconi". Antique Wireless Association monograph, March 1980.


* Page, R.M., "The Early History of Radar", Proceedings of the IRE, Volume 50, Number 5, May, 1962, (special 50th Anniversary Issue).


* C Mackechnie Jarvis "Nikola Tesla and the induction motor". 1970 Phys. Educ. 5 280 287.


* Nichelson, Oliver, " Nikola Tesla's Latter Energy Generation Designs", A description of Tesla's energy generator that "would not consume fuel." 26th IECEC Proceedings, 1991, Boston, MA (American Nuclear Society) Vol. 4, pp 433-438.


* Toby Grotz, " The Influence of Vedic Philosophy on Nikola Tesla's Understanding of Free Energy".


*A New System of Alternating Current Motors and Transformers, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, May 1888.


*  Selected Tesla Writings, Written by Tesla and others,.


* Cheney, Margaret, "", 1979. ISBN 0743215362.


* Ratzlaff, John and Lee Anderson, "Dr. Nikola Tesla Bibliography", Ragusan Press, Palo Alto, California, 1979, 237 pages. Extensive listing of articles about and by Nikola Tesla.


* Carlson, W. Bernard, "Inventor of dreams". Scientific American, March 2005 v292 i3 p78(7).


* Rybak, James P., "Nikola Tesla: Scientific Savant". Popular Electronics, 1042170X, Nov99, Vol. 16, Issue 11.


* Lawren, B., "Rediscovering Tesla". Omni, Mar88, Vol. 10 Issue 6.


* There are at least two films describing Tesla's life. In the first, filmed in 1977, arranged for TV, Tesla was portrayed by Rade Å erbedÅ¾ija. In 1980, Orson Welles produced a Yugoslav film named  Tajna Nikole Tesle (The Secret of Nikola Tesla), in which Welles himself played the part of Tesla's patron, J.P. Morgan. Film was directed by Krsto PapiÄ, and Nikola Tesla was portrayed by Petar BoÅ¾oviÄ.


*  Lost Lightning: The Missing Secrets of Nikola Tesla (at Google Video) - Phenomenon: the Lost Archives documentary about Tesla's designs for free energy and defensive weapons systems.


* David Bowie portrayed Tesla in the 2006 film "The Prestige". Tesla's time in Colorado Springs was the focus of the scenes in the film.


*  Tesla Forum of Western Australia Inc.


*  Tesla's 'Death-Ray' and the Egg of Columbus, from American Antigravity.


*  Dr. James Corum's Tesla Engineering Papers, from Arcs 'N Sparks.


* Seifer, Marc J., and Michael Behar,  Electric Mind, Wired Magazine, October 1998.


* Palmer, Stephen E., " Wardenclyffe: Nikola Tesla's Dream For Free Energy And The Conspiracy Which Destroyed It".


*  Nikola Tesla on various Yugoslavian and Serbian banknotes.


*  Kenneth M. Swezey Papers, 1891 1982, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, archival resources.


Finland, officially the Republic of Finland "Republic of Finland", or "Suomen tasavalta" in Finnish and "Republiken Finland" in Swedish, is the long protocol name, which is not defined by the law. Legislation only recognizes the short name.  ( ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki.


Finland has a population of 5,300,362 people,  spread over an area of  . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 people per square kilometre, making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union.  As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority.


Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance.


Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index    and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world.    According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights.    Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit,    and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime.


Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income.   Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living


Rock paintings in Astuvansalmi in Ristiina, the Southern Savonia region.


According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late third millennium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, aroun


parts of the country. Some scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see Finno-Ugric peoples).    Recently, this view has beem rejected by researchers; the Finnish linguist and professor Juha Janhunen describes the idea of Finno-Ugric languages being present in Finland for thousands of years as "an old myth"   Janhunen, Juha. In "


Short Finnish roots (Korta finska rÃ¶tter)", Hufvudstadsbladet, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on December_30, 2007  It is instead believed that both the Finnish and the Swedish language arrived in Finland at a much later stage and at around the same time, Finnish from the East and Swedish from the West.  ibid.  Finnish and Swedish gradually replaced earlier languages, both Finno-Ugric (Sami language) and Indo-European (Germanic). According to Janhunen, contemporary Finland is the result of the Finnish language expanding in the inner parts of Finland during the last thousand years.   ibid.  . Relatively recently, before the arrival of Germanic and Sami languages in Finland, other, now unknown, languages were spoken in Finland as is evidenced by the oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish.  ibid.


oldest elements of placenames in Finland being neither Finnish nor Swedish.  ibid.


The Bronze Age (1500 500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE 1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions.


The first verifiable written documents appeared in the twelfth century.


The sea fortress of Suomenlinna was founded by a decision of the Swedish Diet in 1747 as a defence works and naval base, to be built on the islands off Helsinki.


Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century by the crown. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era.


The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714 1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742 1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border.


Thirteen of the nineteen women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament celebrates its centenary in 2006â2007.


On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalism, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892.


Despite the Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards.


In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists.


On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence, which was approved by Bolshevist Russia.


In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "the Whites", who were supported by Imperial Germany, and "the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations.


After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃ¥hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist Lapua Movement and Great Depression in the early '30s. However, legislators tended to be anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense.


Fokker D.XXI planes of the Finnish Air Force during World War II.


During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939 40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941 44, following Operation Barbarossa in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union.  This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944 45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland.


Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956.


The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade.


teral trade.


After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of "only choice for president". There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union.


Soviet Union.


The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive social welfare system. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the European Union in 1995.


The name Finland (Suomi in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word *zeme meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape).


The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country).


Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in SÃ¶derby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319) dating from the eleventh century.


[[Image:Finland 1996 CIA map.jpg|thumb|upright|Detailed map of Finland.  See also:  Atlas of Finland]]


Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 mÂ²) and 179,584 islands to be precise.    One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway.


The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Ãland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland.


Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about   a year.


The distance from the most Southern point â Hanko â to the most northern point of Finland â Nuorgam â is   (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats â   and 16.5 h).


All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the  retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation.


Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland.


The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000. Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago.


Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing.    Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts.


The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.


Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks.


The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude.


A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced â for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter.


Provinces of Finland


The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lÃ¤Ã¤ni, pl. lÃ¤Ã¤nit) The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts.


The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right):


#Southern Finland


#Western Finland


#Eastern Finland


#Oulu


#Lapland


#Ãland


Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day regions are subdivisions of these provinces.


The Ãland Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy.


Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007).


Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions.


Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of January 1, 2007). Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality.


Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ãland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections.


Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture.


In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in kmÂ², and the density in inhabitants per kmÂ² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region   comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki)   forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council.


Finland currently numbers 5,290,158 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre.  This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area - Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - some of the other big cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.


The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population.    Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden.


Most of the Finnish people (92 percent   ) speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the  Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65â70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds.    A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-Eu


s not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe.  Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an Uralic language is spoken by the majority.


The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population.    Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent   ) and Estonian (0.3 percent   ). To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000 According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sami parliament, the Sami population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. See  Regional division of Sami people in Finland by age in 2003 (in Finnish).  and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a Sami language as their mother tongue.  There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. Unofficial names for Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See .  Other minority languages are Fin


Finland in Sami languages are: Suopma (Northern Sami), SuomÃ¢ (Inari Sami) and LÃ¤Ã¤Â´ddjÃ¢nnam (Skolt Sami). See .  Other minority languages are Finnish Romani, Finnish Sign Language (spoken natively by 4,000â5,000 people  /ref>) and Finland-Swedish Sign Language (spoken natively by about 150 people). The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution.


The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common foreign languages studied are German and French. Education in the other national language is compulsory in junior high school for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ãland Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province.


The Helsinki Cathedral with the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia.


Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent).      A minority belongs to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent    of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the national churches of Finland. Church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, often attending church only for special occasions like weddings and funerals.


e weddings and funerals.


According to a 2005 Eurobarometer Poll,    41 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 41 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".


Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being.


Auditorium in the Helsinki University of Technology's main building, designed by Alvar Aalto.


The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a trade school, or preparation for tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and universities.


In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world.


Finland has a developed public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor.


After having one of the highest death rates from heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland also boasts the lowest smoking rate of any country in the European Union. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world.


The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men.


Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki.


Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice.


n ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice.


The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta (Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts.


The state flag of Finland


The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Pa


the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament.


The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65â80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends.


Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process, and thus performs a similar role.


According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the last several years.    Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006.


In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries.


The current President of Finland Tarja Halonen in a state visit to Brazil, October 2003.


The President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919.


The current office-holder is President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland, the first woman and first from the capital, Helsinki, to hold the office.


Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen eight days prior the Finnish parliamentary election, 2007.


The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the Centre Party is Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was President of the European Council).


After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows:


After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts.


Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could perhaps be said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence. Peacekeeping under the auspices of the United Nations was for years the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertook. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups.


The President leads Finnish foreign policy, which is implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy.


Finland's foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes.


The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the Constitution of Finland only allows participation in military operations authorised by the UN or the OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as NATO, although Finland is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials.


Virtually every conscript in Finnish Defence Forces is given ski-training.


The Finnish Defence Forces is a cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 are professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for six, nine or twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's Ãland Islands and Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions. Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts.


obilised 490,000 reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts.


The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala.


The military branches are Finnish Army, Finnish Navy and Finnish Air Force. The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness.


The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like oil or coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland refines oil for export (36 percent of chemical exports     ) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market.


Until the 1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level â less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes, Saimaa and PÃ¤ijÃ¤nne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway.


Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant with two existing units. The third unit and Finland's fifth (far left) is computer manipulated and will be ready by 2011.


Finland started planning the introduction of nuclear power in the 1950s. In 2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four nuclear power plants.    Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On May 24, 2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station â world's largest at 1600 MWe â is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by 2011. It is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO


France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG. After general elections held on March 18, 2007, two Finnish energy groups, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit.


Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal and oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring Norway with oil and Estonia with oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with renewable energy: 25 percent of energy is renewable, which is high compared to the EU average 10 percent. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the pulp and paper industry   Finland's third-largest industry   burns its byproducts, such as black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but t


not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from peat harvested from Finland's extensive bogs. Peat is "bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (carbon neutral) or not.


Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5â17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable.


Headquarters of Nokia, Finland's largest company.


Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent. Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country.    With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries    are electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods.


timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods.


Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population.


Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins).


The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003â2005) and four times since 2002.    In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology.    Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success.


Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the feudally ruled Imperial Russia and then the totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the GDP was high compared to other Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the 1970s, Finland's GDP per capita reached the level of Japan and the UK.


In 1991, Finland fell into a severe depression caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the 1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in 1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of O


lise the economy; the depression bottomed out in 1993, with continued growth through 1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of OECD countries, and national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent of GDP (fulfilling the EU's Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at about 7 percent.


The 339 metres long M/S Freedom of the Seas and her sister ship M/S Liberty of the Seas, built at Aker Yards in Perno, Turku, are the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels in the world.


Notable Finnish companies include Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony; Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world; Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company; UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world; Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas); KONE, a manufacturer of elevators and escalators; WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, a producer of power plants and ship engines; and Finnair, the country's international airline.


Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the main airport of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and the whole of Finland.


Finland's transport network is developed. As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and light rail systems are currently being planned in Turku and Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports.


The national railway company is VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country and the faster Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7â16 yr), students, senior citizens and conscripts. There are international trains to St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and Moscow (Russian over-night train), Russia. Connections to Sweden are by bus due to rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the


* EckerÃ¶ Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from EckerÃ¶ to Grisslehamn (Sweden).


There are about 25 airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services. Finnair, Blue1 and Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for great circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa.


The M/S Silja Symphony leaving from Helsinki. Cruises are a popular tourist activity throughout Finland.


Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over â¬6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005.


The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities.


Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and TravemÃ¼nde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry.


Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the summer, winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Santaâs Post Office is also located in Finland, up in the northern Lapland region. Above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks, or even months. Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan.


Throughout the summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland. Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also popular. Elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy.


Finland is also a place rich in culture for history, tradition and religion. There are churches and cathedrals scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong Finnish Lutheran following. There are also museums and examples of ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. Castles from the Swedish reign are found, for example in Turku, HÃ¤meenlinna and Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum. Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg.


Chimneyless sauna building in Enonkoski. Strong Finnish sauna culture is one of the remains of the aboriginal Finnish culture.


Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study.


There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon.


Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007.


Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish in the sixteenth century as a result of the Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national Romantic Movement. This prompted Elias LÃ¶nnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably Aleksis Kivi and Eino Leino.


After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously Mika Waltari. Frans Eemil SillanpÃ¤Ã¤ was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939   so far the only one for a Finnish author. The second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by VÃ¤inÃ¶ Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity. Ilkka Remes, a Finnish author of thrillers, is very popular.


The architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto.


Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was WÃ¤inÃ¶ Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware.


Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the Kalevala. Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between the East and the West. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of popular music.


Sami music


The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect.


The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865â1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music.


The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/VÃ¥rt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In the 1890s Finnish nationalism based on the Kalevala spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study runo singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation.


Today, Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Finnish classical music has only existed for about a hundred years, and many of the important composers are still alive, such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. The composers are accompanied with a large number of great conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo VÃ¤nskÃ¤, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna MÃ¤lkki and Leif Segerstam. Some of the internationally acclaimed Finnish classical musicians are Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Kari Kriikku, Pekka Kuusisto, RÃ©ka Szilvay and Linda Brava.