HOW NIELS BOHR CRACKED THE RARE-EARTH CODE

Rare earths are currently shaping debates on EV batteries, wind turbines and advanced defence gear. Yet most readers frequently mix up what “rare earths” actually are. These 17 elements seem ordinary, but they power the devices we hold daily. For decades they mocked chemists, remaining a riddle, until a quantum pioneer named Niels Bohr rewrot