Scientists Say: Rare earth element
The date of：
2023-09-28
viewed:
18
source:ScienceNewsExplores
A rare earth element is one of 17 elements on the periodic table. These 17 metals include 15 “lanthanides.” Those are elements 57 to 71. Scandium (element 21) and yttrium (element 39) are also rare earths.Rare earth elements are not really that rare. They’re found around the world. Some are as common in Earth’s crust as copper or tin. But rare earth elements are only found in very low concentrations. They are usually mixed with each other or other elements. And they’re hard to separate and purify. So miners have to extract lots of ore to get even a little bit of a rare earth element.That effort is well worth it, though, because rare earth elements are crucial for building a lot of technology. They’re key ingredients in smartphones and electric cars, as well as medical devices, wind turbines and much more.Rare earth elements are so useful thanks to their electrons. Each atom of a rare earth element has a special group of electrons called f-electrons. These electrons can release energy in the form of very specific colors of light. Terbium, for instance, emits a precise color of green light. Meanwhile, europium can give off red or blue. Such elements give rise to colors on phone, computer and TV screens.The rare earth elements yttrium and neodymium give off other types of light. These are useful for making high-power lasers that can cut through steel or remove tattoos. The rare earth element erbium emits the right kind of light to boost signals through fiber optic cables. Those cables bring internet to many parts of the world.Rare earth elements’ f-electrons also bestow these materials with powerful, reliable magnetism. The rare earth element neodymium is used to make magnets that vibrate inside headphones to generate sounds. Such magnets also make it possible to read and write data on hard drives, and they create magnetic fields inside fMRI machines.Adding the rare earth element dysprosium to the mix makes those magnets more heat-resistant. As a result, they become useful parts for electric vehicles. Rare earth elements even magnetically levitate some trains to glide above their tracks, leading to smoother, faster rides.Other rare earth elements play important roles in energy production. The catalyst cerium helps turn crude oil into useful products. Gadolinium absorbs neutrons to rein in energy production inside nuclear reactors.With such a wide variety of highly important jobs, rare earth elements are in high demand. And that demand is only expected to increase. This is motivating scientists to find new ways to more easily recycle these precious materials. Even though rare earth elements are key to many green technologies, the process of mining and purifying these materials causes a lot of pollution.Check out the full list of Scientists Say.
Hot News
/
Related to recommend
2026
-
07
-
21
Click on the number of times:
0
Synthesis of Ce-Doped ZIF-8-Derived Core–Shell ZnO Sensors via Double Sintering for Highly Sensitive Formaldehyde Detection at Room Temperature 来源：ACS PublicationsFormaldehyde, a common indoor air po...
2026
-
07
-
20
Click on the number of times:
1
来源：ACS PublicationsHafnium oxide (HfO2) is considered as the most promising candidate for replacement of conventional SiO2 in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Owing to the ap...
2026
-
07
-
20
Click on the number of times:
1
Interface Reconstruction Induced by Rare-Earth Incorporation Stabilizes High-Coordination Cu+ Sites for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia 来源：ACS PublicationsThe electrochemical ni...
2026
-
07
-
17
Click on the number of times:
2
Hybrid Solvation Model for Analyzing the Binding of Yttrium and Calcium Cations to the Lanmodulin Protein Using the Fragment Molecular Orbital Method 来源：ACS PublicationsA hybrid solvation model combin...