General Discussion, page-1659

Just thought i would post this info for those that would like to know
a bit more about Light Rare Earths, Heavy Rare Earths and their uses.


What are light rare earth metals?All rare earth metals are part of a chemical group called lanthanides, and light rare earths represent the lanthanides with the lowest atomic numbers. The light rare earths are cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, europium, gadolinium and samarium.Of the light rare earth metals, neodymium is considered one of the most critical. It is used in everything from mobile phones and electric cars to medical equipment. Neodymium is also the main light rare earth used in the creation of permanent magnets, which are heavily used in data storage systems and wind turbines.Praseodymium is another significant light rare earth metal. It is used in alloys with magnesium to form aircraft engines, and it also finds use in the film industry for studio lighting and other projects. Like many rare earth metals, praseodymium plays a role in creating permanent magnets.

What are heavy rare earth metals?Heavy rare earth metals are defined by their higher atomic weights relative to light rare earths. They are less common, and some elements within the group are facing shortages as demand outpaces supply. That typically makes them more valuable than light rare earths, though they also have smaller markets. The full list of heavy rare earths is dysprosium, yttrium, terbium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, yttrium and lutetium.Dysprosium, yttrium and terbium are considered critical in the heavy rare earth metals group as they face low supply and increasing importance in the development of clean energy technologies. Like the light rare earths, heavy rare earths also play a key role in other technology, including hybrid cars, fiber optics and medical devices.Dysprosium is used in tandem with neodymium in magnets that are vital to modern tech and renewable energy. In addition, dysprosium oxide is used in nuclear reactors to help cool fuel rods to keep reactions under control.Terbium is used in TV screens and solid-state hard drives for data storage. Solid-state drives are heavily favored over conventional hard drives as they are faster and more reliable than conventional hard drives. Solid-state drives are now the default storage format for many laptops and personal electronics. For its part, yttrium has a variety of applications. It is used in TV screens, as an alloying agent and in the polymerization of ethylene.