RARE EARTHS SERVE YOU EVERY DAY A variety of common uses of these unique materials a report by LINDSAY
We*ve often s u g g e s t e d o n this p a g e that y o u m i g h t find interesting and profitable uses for the rare earths in your manufacturing processes. Here are some of the common but n o n e t h e less exciting applications of rare earths.
Sharp News
That's why today you can get so fine a precision Kodak lens so economically. Next time you get color slides with beautiful, needle-sharp images, shot with your favorite camera (Kodak, of course), you can thank the imaginative engineering of the people at Kodak . . . and think, too, of the amazing versatility of the rare earths. IF YOU WEAR GLASSES
Chances are that your glasses were polished with ceria, a rare earth oxide preferred by many of the better optical firms. Cerium oxide is also widely used KodaK to polish high precision optical instru1 ments, mirrors and other glass specialties. Speaking of versatility, certain of the rare earths are used to decolorize If you are a camera f an, you've probglass; others add the lovely, delicate ably Heard a"bout rare element glass colors so many people like in fine glassdeveloped b y Eastman Kodak. It is ware. called "rare" because it contains, among other things, lanthanum which is one HAVE A LIGHT of the rare earths· Top quality lighter flints are made of Kodak utilized t h e principle that misch metal (an alloy of mixed rare rare earth ghusshas a very high refracearths). Rare earth metals are also used tive index in relation to its dispersion. to create better alloy steels and magIt, therefore, b e n d s light more and nesium alloys for high temperature spreads colors less. This permits proservice. duction of lenses w i t h shallower curves FROM
and, consequently, less inherent aberration. The result: higher quality lenses with fewer glass parts. Rare element glass was perfected b y Kodak for high precision military needs during World War 11. The exciting part of the story i s that Kodak's optical engineers have now found a way to produce rare ea rth element glass lenses in quantity a t greatly r e d u c e d costs.
OUT OF THIS WORLD
Thorium, intimately a s s o c i a t e d with the rare earths, is literally out of this world — in the outer atmosphere! For thorium is an essential metal in the production of the alloy skin of the third
stage of a rocket. Thorium has unique qualities which make it possible to produce a thorium-magnesium alloy which does not burn up at the fantastic speed of the rocket—up to 18,000 miles per hour. AND A FEW MORE
More perhaps than you have suspected, you enjoy every day the benefit of the truly remarkable, qualities of rare earths. They are used in the production of such widely diversified daily essentials (to name only a few) as movie projectors, textiles, ceramics, paint, T V picture tubes, petroleum, chrome plating, electrical resistance alloys, pharmaceuticals, ink, X-ray machines. Does all this give you an idea you can explore in your business? THIS IS THE "COMMERCIAL"
As the TV announcer says, we pause for a brief announcement. If you are thinking about the possibility of using rare earths, even in the high purities, don't worry about availabilities. Most of them are available for prompt shipment in quantities of an ounce to a carload. H o w much do you need? Even more important, prices have b e e n sharply reduced during recent years. You'll find the rare earths economically practical . . . and wonderfully useful. So here's ample evidence that rare earths touch you in some way virtually every day. Certainly they aie worth your own critical investigation. What helpful information would you like from us — today?
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