source:New Straits Times In 2013, scientists were able to develop an atomic clock that set a record for stability. In fact, if this clock had been started at the beginning of the universe's existence, some 14 billion years ago, it would be off today by less than a second. This can be accomplished by using a rare earth element (REE) called ytterbium. Earlier atomic clocks used different elements and response to electromagnetic waves. However, ytterbium optical-based clock responds to a higher frequency laser, hence a more stable and better precision.Atomic clocks have been aroun...
Release time:
2021
-
06
-
02
viewed：11
source:CleanTechnicaAt an abandoned coal mine just outside the city of Gillette, Wyoming, construction crews are getting ready to break ground on a 10,000-square-foot building that will house state-of-the-art laboratories and manufacturing plants. Among the projects at the facility, known as the Wyoming Innovation Center, will be a pilot plant that aims to takes coal ash — the sooty, toxic waste left behind after coal is burned for energy — and use it to extract rare earths, elements that play an essential role in everything from cell phones and LED screens to wind turbines and electric cars.&...
Release time:
2021
-
06
-
01
viewed：11
source：CleanTechnicaIn recent years, the US Department of Energy has been funding a number of pilot plants, where scientists experiment with the best ways to remove valuable rare earth minerals from coal waste. So far, DOE has allocated about $19 million for further research into how much of the valuable materials can be extracted from it. When a technique shows promise, then the site will get additional funding to work toward making the technology work at scale.So far, plants in Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Utah, and Kentucky are either under construction or in planning.“I think we n...
Release time:
2021
-
06
-
01
viewed：2
source:LAS VEGAS Review-JournalLongtime gold and copper miner Robby Ruesch stands above a massive open-pit mine, owned by Las Vegas-based firm MP Materials and considered the world’s second-largest producer of rare earth minerals.“I wanted to be part of something different and something very unique within the U.S.,” said Ruesch, manager of mining and ore delivery at MP Materials.It’s a feeling that will likely be shared by the more than 200 new workers MP Materials expects to hire over the next year. The hiring push is part of a larger plan to invest $200 million toward upgrading the mine, kno...
Release time:
2021
-
05
-
31
viewed：1