samarium

Rare earths, like samarium and terbium, are critical to the production of technologies set to shape the world in the coming decades – including electric vehicles and highly advanced weapons systems.

The 17 elements are: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium.

Defense Department to find better ways to procure samarium cobalt rare earth permanent magnets, which are often found in precision-guided missiles, smart bombs and military jets.

China produces nearly two-thirds of the world’s samarium cobalt rare earth magnets, according to U.S. government estimates.

The researchers put a thin film of the samarium hexaboride on top of another compound that, at low temperatures, becomes a superconductor—a material that can conduct electricity without resistance.