HOW NIELS BOHR CRACKED THE RARE-EARTH CODE

You can’t scroll a tech blog without bumping into a mention of rare earths—vital to EVs, renewables and defence hardware—yet almost no one grasps their story. Seventeen little-known elements underwrite the tech that runs modern life. For decades they mocked chemists, remaining a riddle, until a quantum pioneer named Niels Bohr rewrote the

Rare earths are presently shaping debates on EV batteries, wind turbines and advanced defence gear. Yet the public still misunderstand what “rare earths” actually are. These 17 elements seem ordinary, but they power the gadgets we carry daily. Their baffling chemistry left scientists scratching their heads for decades—until Niels Bohr steppe