Litcius/Paper detail

Rare earths in a nutshell

Jianshi Zhou, Gregory A. Fiete

2020Physics Today27 citationsDOI

Abstract

The elements’ electronic configurations help explain why the rare earths are key ingredients in dozens of technological products—cell phones, computer hard drives, and lasers among them.

Topics & Concepts

Key (lock)Rare earthLaserComputer scienceMaterials scienceNanotechnologyPhysicsComputer securityOpticsMetallurgyGeochemistry and Elemental Analysis