REEs explained.
REEs unique characteristics allow them to enhance the performance of other metals and in most cases result in a reduction of the amount of metal necessary for an application, allowing things to be smaller and lighter. They are used in everyday technologies like a cellphone and computer. They are also used in advance medical technologies like MRIs, laser scalpels and even some cancer drugs. In defense applications, they are used in satellite communications, guidance systems and aircraft structures and they are critical in wind turbines and electric vehicles.
With rare earths, a little goes a long way. The amount of rare earths used in high tech equipment is small but almost always critical to the unit’s performance. For example, a smartphone uses seven rare earth elements, from its colored screen, to its speakers, to the miniaturization of the phone’s circuitry.
The elements.
While named “rare” earth elements, they are in fact not that rare and are relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust. What is unusual is to find them in quantities sufficient to support economic mineral development.
A set of seventeen metallic elements with unique properties: chemical, catalytic, magnetic, metallurgical and phosphorescent.
The elements include Scandium (Sc), Yttrium (Y), Lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Promethium (Pm), Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy), Holmium (Ho), Erbium (Er), Thulium (Tm), Ytterbium (Yb) and Lutetium (Lu).
At RC Inspection, we offer a wide range of analysis on all REEs. More information can be found in the brochure here below.
Rare Earth Elements