Rare Earth in BlackBerry to Prius Underscores Alarm Over Supply
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Rare-earth elements help give BlackBerrys their buzz, Toyota Priuses their battery power, and computer hard drives their spin.
The rare earths, a group of 17 metals including neodymium, lanthanum, cerium and europium, also have industrial and national-security uses, such as in petroleum refining, fiber-optics transmission, and military radar and missile-guidance systems.