In a sense, the overwhelming control of the US military in several local wars after the Cold War is due to the technology in the field of technology in the field of rare earth . Why are rare earths so important? Today we will learn more about rare earths known as "industrial gold".
Inner Mongolia Natural History Museum Rare Earth Exhibition Area
Is rare earth really earth soil? Rare Earth is in English, meaning "sparse earth". Although it is called "soil", it is not soil, but a general term for a type of metal with relatively small reserves. Due to the limitations of the scientific and technological level at that time, people could only make some impure oxide , which was like soil, so they left this group of elements with a unique name "rare earth". Rare earth is the general term for 17 metal elements, including lanthanides, scandium and yttrium in the periodic table of . There are 250 rare earth ore in nature. From the discovery of the element yttrium in 1794, to the acquisition of the proge in the fission substances of uranium in 1945, after 151 years, people found all the 17 similar elements of the third sub-group of the periodic table, scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, propene, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thium, ytterbium, and letterbium, were found, and listed as a family, named rare earth element .
Inner Mongolia Natural Museum specimens
Rarity earths are very widely used. As long as you add an appropriate amount of rare earths to some traditional products, many magical effects will be produced. It plays the role of modern industrial "vitamins" and produces huge radiation economic benefits. Rare earths are known as the "gold" in the industry. Because of their excellent physical properties such as photoelectromagnetics, they can form new materials with different properties and a wide variety of varieties with other materials. The most significant function is to greatly improve the quality and performance of other products.
Inner Mongolia Natural Museum Specimen
At present, rare earths have been widely used in dozens of industries such as metallurgy, petroleum, chemical industry, light textile, medicine, agriculture, etc. rare earth steel can significantly improve the wear resistance, corrosion resistance and toughness of steel; rare earth aluminum strips can improve strength and conductivity while reducing the fineness of aluminum wires; spraying rare earth pesticides on fruit trees can not only eliminate pests and diseases, but also improve fruit bearing rate; rare earth composite fertilizers can not only improve soil structure, but also increase agricultural product output; rare earth elements can also inhibit the spread of cancer cells. Rare earths have important uses in various high-tech industries, such as high-performance batteries, hard drive , nuclear magnetic resonance imager , solid laser , maglev trains, etc. Rare earth materials must be used during the manufacturing process. Military, rare earths have even greater strategic value, because scope , night vision , tank shells and aircraft engines also rely on rare earth materials. As more and more rare earth materials are developed, the consumption of rare earths has continued to grow since the 1970s, and has maintained a growth rate of more than 15% for decades. Today, it has become an irreplaceable strategic resource like oil. Especially for a country that relies on high-tech manufacturing, once the production of rare earths is insufficient, the entire industrial system will be affected. Once rare earth technology is used in military affairs, it will inevitably bring about a leap in military technology. Therefore, the overwhelming control of the US military in several local wars after the Cold War is due to technology in the field of rare earth technology.
World Rare Earths in China, Chinese Rare Earths in Baotou . China's rare earth resources account for 36.4% of the global total, while Baotou City's rare earth reserves account for 87% of the domestic reserves. On August 8, 2012, at the China Baotou Rare Earth Industry (International) Forum, Baotou City was officially named China's "Rare Earth Capital". According to information published by Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone, China's proven rare earth resources are 66.7% of the world, while Baotou accounts for 54.2% of the world. Another data shows that the industrial reserves of Baiyun Obo rare earth mines are 36 million tons, accounting for 36% of the world and more than 90% of the country.
