Magnets

Tatsunosuke Kubota

Director, Pip Co., Ltd., General Manager of Product Development Business Division, 2017 Keio Management Training Program

When people think of using magnetic force to relieve stiffness, many think of Pip Elekiban. Pip was founded in 1908 as Fujimoto Shinji Shoten, a wholesaler of medical and sanitary supplies. Pip Elekiban was developed in 1972 as the company's fourth original product.

The product name is a combination of "Elekiden," a friction generator associated with magnetism, and "Ban" from adhesive bandages (bansoko). Regarding the development process, when considering whether magnetism could be applied to specific pressure points for effect, the developer noticed that people were taping grains of rice to their pressure points. Thinking it would be effective to replace the rice with magnets, they conducted repeated experiments and commercialized it as a controlled medical device. The commercials featuring the chairman at the time and a celebrity became popular for their simplicity, making the product an explosive hit.

Today, the product is used by men and women of all ages, including mothers suffering from stiff shoulders and young people with severe stiffness from smartphone use. Since it has no odor and is not a drug, it can be used by anyone. It is available at drugstores, so please give it a try.

Pip Elekiban® | Pip Co., Ltd.

Miyuri Shirai

Professor, Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University

We live in an age of information overload. While we can easily access a wide variety of information at any time, processing vast amounts of information is difficult and creates stress. Consequently, the bias in information acquisition is accelerating, with people accessing only information they value. The influence on consumer purchasing is now greater from the internet and social media than from the four major mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines). The "magnet effect," where people are drawn to attractive stores or products like magnets, is also often triggered by social media. Stores and products that go viral on social media attract the attention of many consumers and amplify the "bandwagon effect"—the desire to experience it oneself—making the magnet effect far larger than in the past.

As for myself, I have little interest in social media or trends. I engage in a lot of inertial consumption, such as using stores with a good atmosphere and high reliability, or purchasing products whose quality I know well. Looking at this, I believe that the magnet that attracts consumers strongly and for a long time, rather than just temporarily, is the strength of the psychological connection with the object.

Takumi Funato

Project Assistant Professor, Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI)

When an object is rotated, it becomes a magnet, and conversely, when an object has magnetic properties, it rotates. This phenomenon, called the gyromagnetic effect, was revealed about 100 years ago through the only experiment Einstein ever performed in his life.

Now, many readers may be hearing about this effect for the first time. That is no surprise. Even if a car engine is rotated at 100 revolutions per second, only an extremely small effect—about the level of the Earth's magnetic field—appears, which is why it has not received much attention.

So, why not just rotate it faster? Sound waves solved this problem. Sound waves travel along the surface of an object while drawing small circles.

By using this characteristic to create high-speed rotation of over 1 billion revolutions per second, we were able to sufficiently draw out the gyromagnetic effect. Furthermore, recent research has revealed that when sound waves are applied to a magnet, electricity is generated due to the gyromagnetic effect. Sound is all around us. The electricity generated by this sound and magnets might enrich our future.

Takeshi Kawase

Professor Emeritus, Keio University; Alumnus, Wandervogel Club

GPS navigation using radio waves from satellites provides accurate location information and is widely used as a navigation tool for cars and mobile phones. Although there are regional magnetic declinations (9 degrees west in Sapporo, 5 degrees west in Naha), we are entering an era where the magnetic compass, once essential for mountain climbing and sailing, is being forgotten.

However, over-relying on mobile navigation while climbing can lead to unexpected accidents such as: (1) early battery depletion, (2) equipment damage from sudden thunderstorms, and (3) route errors due to signal interference in deep forests or valleys. While mobile navigation is very helpful for finding evacuation routes during climbs or disasters, the battery drains surprisingly quickly and the devices are vulnerable to water. Failing to bring a charger or waterproof wrap can lead to serious accidents. Recently, an elderly solo traveler lost their way on a low mountain and died; one of the causes was reportedly the early depletion of their mobile battery. Mobile navigation is convenient, but any malfunction can lead to fatal accidents. Traditional magnets and printed maps are still important today as a final means of risk avoidance, and you should always carry them when mountain climbing.