Rare earth elements are getting a lot of ink these days, as questions about future supply
have led to both political and economic tensions, and to a renewed
search for rare earth deposits in North America, Australia, and parts of
Southeast Asia. But some researchers think less rare earths, not more,
are the key to sustaining industry’s need for the minerals going
forward. GE scientists have devised a new breed of
nanostructured magnets that require smaller amounts of rare earths to achieve the same high magnetism.