Introduction of the Journals of the Physico-Mathematical Society2006/04/24: No.3; Journals of the Physico-Mathematical Society and Kotaro HondaKotaro Honda (1870-1954) was a father of research on magnetic substances in Japan. Magnets are used at present in large-scale magnetic recording systems, such as hard disks, and they are indispensable in modern society. Ultra-small equipment that can carry several hundred volumes of music, and equipment that can record videos for several hundred hours can be realized entirely on the basis of the large-scale magnetic recording system. In addition, powerful magnets are used in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which examine the inside of the body at a hospital, and also in magnetic levitated trains. Honda was born in Aichi Prefecture, and learned physics under the guidance of Aikitsu Tanakadate and Hantaro Nagaoka at Tokyo Imperial University. When Tohoku Imperial University was inaugurated in 1907, he was informally nominated as a professor. He assumed this position upon returning to Japan in 1911 after studying in Europe. In 1916, he became the head of the 2nd department of the Provisional Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, the predecessor of the present Institute for Materials Research, and invented the world's strongest K･S magnet steel. In 1919, this institute was renamed as the Institute for Iron and Steel Research in Tohoku Imperial University. Honda assumed the position of first head director, and he continued his work there until 1933. When Tokushichi Mishima et al. at Tokyo Imperial University developed M･K magnet steel in 1931, which was three times stronger than KS magnet steel, Honda invented the new K･S magnet steel in 1933 to compete with the M･K steel. That year, he was awarded an honorable doctorate from Göttingen University, Germany. Based on this connection, Sendai City, where Tohoku Imperial University is located, was called "Göttingen of the Tohoku district." Honda worked as the president of Tohoku Imperial University from 1931 to 1940, and received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure. This Journal@rchive features many papers, including the "Magnetostriction of Nickel Steel" (Tokyo Sugaku-ButsurigakkaiKiji-Gaiyo, Vol.2, p.9) co-written with Hantaro Nagaoka. (Tetsuro Saso: Professor at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University) |
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