3 of 6
BACKNEXT
Consumer gadgets
Consumer gadgets
Type of technology: Televsion, phone and tablet screens, earphones, mp3 players
Rare earth(s) used: europium, terbium

Rare earth elements make the strongest batteries and magnets for big scale items like cars and wind turbines, but also small consumer electronic devices. Smartphones, mp3 players and earphone speakers all use tiny magnets made from neodymium and samarium.

Back when production at the Mountain Pass Mine was in its prime, one of the most valuable elements mined was europium. Early TVs used a compound containing europium because the metal is something called a red phosphor--meaning it glows red when hit with an electron beam.

Europium also makes a blue phosphor that's currently used for plasma screen TVs. Another rare earth element called terbium is used to make a green-glowing phosphor. All three colors are used in LED screens.

Rare earths also make those screens look good. They have the perfect chemical composition to polish glass, so cathode ray tubes, plasma, and liquid crystal display glass all use rare earth-based polish to shine.



NEXT: Medical devices
Last updated October 28 2010: 9:11 AM ET
  • Find Homes for sale
    Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia

  • Property Type
  • Find a home in:
  • New York | Atlanta | Chicago | Los Angeles
  • Washington D.C | Houston | Philadelphia | More options
More Galleries
5 biggest share buybacks of 2014 Stock repurchases are booming. These five companies are ready to spend over $79 billion on buybacks. More
10 horrifying corporate mascots McDonald's Happy is part of a long lineage of creatures great and small that shill for products and mortify consumers. Mr. Mucus, anyone? More
5 best cities to launch a career The top spots in the U.S. for new grads to land a job -- and actually enjoy life -- according to financial site WalletHub. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.