It is believed that commercially, rare earth magnets are the most important of all the rare earth metals. So, if you are thinking of investing in this commodity, this article explains what rare earth magnets are and provides examples of what they are used for in consumer and industrial applications.
What are rare earth magnets?
Rare earth magnets are the strongest permanent magnets every produced. They can create magnetic fields as strong as 1.4 Teslas which is up to twice as strong as that produced by ceramic and ferrite magnets.
But there is a problem with pure rare earth magnets: they have low Curie temperatures, so low that they lose their magnetism even below room temperature.
To overcome this, rare earth magnets are usually made from alloys of rare earth and transition metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel. The most common are:
- Samarium cobalt: this was the first type to be developed. These have a high Curie temperature making them suitable for high-temperature applications.
- Neodymium magnets: these are made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron. They are the strongest rare earth magnets and cost less than samarium cobalt magnets.
What are rare earth magnets used for?
While samarium cobalt magnets are used mainly in niche high-temperature applications, neodymium magnets are used in a wide range of industrial, military, healthcare, and consumer applications.
Military and aerospace:
Samarium cobalt magnets are used in guided missiles and space exploration where they can tolerate high temperatures.
Neodymium magnets also play a crucial role in these sectors including power generation, guidance systems, and communications.
Healthcare:
Neodymium magnets are used in many imaging techniques such as PET scans, NMRI (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging), tomography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy.
Clean energy:
Wind turbines are primary users of neodymium magnets.
Transport:
Neodymium magnets are essential for modern motors for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Computing:
Hard drives use neodymium magnets
Consumer applications:
High-quality loudspeakers and headphones use neodymium magnets.
What are rare earth intermetallics?
Rare earth magnets are usually are used in combination with other metals to form rare earth intermetallics.
There are very many rare earth intermetallic compounds that have important properties which are used in the following applications:
- Rare earth permanent magnets
- Electron guns (scientific instruments such as scanning electron microscopes)
- Magnetostriction
- Organic Complexes
Investing in rare earth metals
if you want to learn more about the investing in rare earth metals, please follow the link.
