Rare Earths: Neglected "Industrial Vitamins"

In our daily life, the word rare earth may not be mentioned as frequently as oil and gold, but it is like a hero behind the scenes, silently supporting the building of modern industry. Rare earth is not a kind of soil, but a general term for 17 metal chemical elements. They have unique physical and chemical properties and play an irreplaceable key role in many fields, so they are vividly known as "industrial vitamins".

Just as vitamins account for a small proportion in the human body, but they are essential to maintain the normal physiological function of the human body, rare earth is used in industrial production, but it can greatly improve the performance and quality of products. In the field of electronic information, smart phones, computers, hard disk drives and other devices are inseparable from rare earth. For example, NdFeB permanent magnet materials have the characteristics of high magnetic energy product and high coercivity, which are widely used in micro-motors of these devices, enabling them to achieve smaller size, higher performance and lower energy consumption, so that we can easily enjoy the intelligent life brought by modern technology.

Today, with the vigorous development of new energy industry, rare earth plays an important role. Taking the electric vehicle as an example, the permanent magnet motor, one of its core components, needs a large number of rare earth permanent magnet materials. These materials give the motor higher efficiency, lighter weight and smaller volume, thus significantly improving the range and power performance of the electric vehicle. In addition, in the field of wind power generation, rare earth permanent magnet generators can improve the efficiency of power generation, reduce the cost of power generation, and provide strong support for the large-scale application of clean energy.

In the field of national defense and military industry, the importance of rare earth is self-evident. From stealth fighters, precision-guided weapons to radar systems and satellite communication equipment, the application of rare earth materials makes these advanced weapons and equipment have stronger performance, higher precision and better stealth capability, and become a key factor in maintaining national security and military superiority. For example, in the manufacture of stealth fighters, rare earth elements are used to make absorbing materials, which can effectively reduce the radar cross section of the aircraft, make it have better stealth performance, and achieve unexpected attack effect on the battlefield.