Rare earths are presently steering conversations on EV batteries, wind turbines and advanced defence gear. Yet the public often confuse what “rare earths” truly are. These 17 elements seem ordinary, but they power the gadgets we use daily. Their baffling chemistry kept scientists scratching their heads for decades—until Niels Bohr intervened

Rare earths are currently shaping talks on EV batteries, wind turbines and next-gen defence gear. Yet the public often confuse what “rare earths” truly are. Seventeen little-known elements underwrite the tech that energises modern life. For decades they mocked chemists, remaining a riddle, until a quantum pioneer named Niels Bohr rewrote the