was a Japanese

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

and inventor. He discovered that aluminum restored

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

ism to non-magnetic

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

steel. He invented

MKM steel MKM steel, an alloy containing nickel and aluminum, was developed in 1931 by metallurgist Tokushichi Mishima (三島徳七). While conducting research into the properties of nickel, Mishima discovered that a strongly magnetic steel could be creat ...

, which was an extremely inexpensive magnetic substance that has been used in many applications. It is also closely related to the modern

Alnico Alnico is a family of iron alloys which, in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co), hence the acronym ''al-ni-co''. They also include copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnet ...

magnets. He later became a professor at the

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

. After his death, his remains were buried in the

Tama Cemetery in Tokyo is the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. It is split between the cities of Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchu and Koganei, Tokyo, Koganei within the Tokyo Metropolis. First established in April 1923 as , it was redesignated Tama Cemetery in 1935. ...

in Tokyo.

Honours

* Award of the Imperial Academy (1945) *Order of Culture (1950) *Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon (1950) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (19 November 1975; posthumous) On April 18, 1985, the

Japan Patent Office The is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of industrial property right affairs, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Japan Patent Office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo and is one of the world's largest pa ...

selected him as one of

Ten Japanese Great Inventors The system of Intellectual property, industrial rights in Japan celebrated 100 years of existence in 1985. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Japanese system of industrial property rights, the Japan Patent Office selected ten great in ...

References

External links

* http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2027997.pdf * http://www.jpo.go.jp/seido_e/rekishi_e/tokushi_mishima.htm 1893 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Japanese inventors Japanese metallurgists Laureates of the Imperial Prize {{japan-engineer-stub