Rare earths are currently shaping debates on EV batteries, wind turbines and advanced defence gear. Yet the public often confuse what “rare earths” actually are. These 17 elements appear ordinary, but they power the technologies we use daily. For decades they mocked chemists, remaining a riddle, until a quantum pioneer named Niels Bohr rewrot

You can’t scroll a tech blog without stumbling across a mention of rare earths—vital to EVs, renewables and defence hardware—yet almost nobody grasps their story. These 17 elements seem ordinary, but they anchor the gadgets we carry daily. For decades they mocked chemists, remaining a riddle, until a quantum pioneer named Niels Bohr rewrot