About this item

How will your life change when the supply of tantalum dries up You may have never heard of this unusual metal, but without it smartphones would be instantly less omniscient, video game systems would falter, and laptops fail. Tantalum is not alone. Rhodium. Osmium. Niobium. Such refugees from the bottom of the periodic table are key components of many consumer products like cell phones, hybrid car batteries, and flat screen televisions, as well as sophisticated medical devices and even weapon systems. Their versatile properties have led manufacturers to seek these elements out to maximize longevity, value, and efficiency, but not without a human price. In addition to explaining the chemistry behind rare earth metals, Rare delves into the economic and geopolitical issues surrounding these conflict minerals, blending tales of financial and political struggles with glimpses into the human lives that are shattered by the race to secure them.



About the Author

Keith Veronese

Veronese also wrote Plugged In: Comic Book Professionals Working in the Video Game Industry, which TwoMorrows Publishing released in 2013 and wrote extensively for the Gawker Media science site io9. He currently resides outside of Birmingham, Alabama with his wife and twin daughters.



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