source:EurekAlertThe future of electronic displays will be thin, flexible and durable. One barrier to this, however, is that one of the most widely used transparent conductors for electronic displays--indium tin oxide (ITO)--doesn't perform as well on larger areas and can crack and break down with wear. Indium is also a rare earth mineral, which is relatively scarce, and the process to create ITO requires high energy consumption and expensive equipment.One emerging alternative is metal 'microgrid' conductors. These microgrids can be customized to their application by varying the mi...
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2021
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source：NerdistIn a new world record, a team of scientists working in Japan has drilled a hole into Earth’s crust approximately 26,322 feet below the ocean’s surface. The team of scientists, working as a part of an International Ocean Discovery Program (or IODP) expedition, were able to best the previous record-holder by about 328 feet. Although it’s not the distance record everyone’s excited about: It’s the rare-earth elements.Gizmodo reported on the record-breaking hole, which IODP scientists dug in the Pacific Ocean off Japan’s northeast coast. The achievement marks the first time somebody h...
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2021
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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...
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2021
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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.&...
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2021
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