Listen Now
Loading audio... Please wait for the audio to load before using controls.
0:0018:47
100%
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: AudiobookHub Recommendation
Chapter 2: Rare earth metals aren't truly scarce; they are generally found only in minute amounts.
Chapter 3: The first rare earth metal, found in the eighteenth century, didn’t see practical use for decades afterward.
Chapter 4: Rare earth elements stabilize nuclear reactors, yet they also produce significant nuclear waste too.
Chapter 5: Certain rare earth metals, like the discreet poison thallium sulfate, can serve as deadly weapons indeed.
Chapter 6: The bulk of rare earth metals lie in China, amassed roughly 400 million years ago there.
Chapter 7: Afghanistan, long a pawn in geopolitical wars, might find relief through rare earth metals indeed.
Chapter 8: Rare earth elements are vital to military and energy technologies.
Chapter 9: Outer space may become a future source of rare earth metals, but the question of celestial ownership remains unresolved.
Description
Rare (2015) sheds light on the common but elusive chemical elements beneath the earth’s surface – elements that play an increasingly important role in the development of modern technology. Get a better sense of what’s really driving the geopolitical struggles between the world’s superpowers, and what a group of rare earth metals has to do with the future of our energy sources, gadgets and military technology.
Who Should Listen
- Economists interested in the division of the world’s valuable mineral resources
- Tech junkies curious about what their devices are made of
- Concerned consumers who want to know more about what they buy