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Podcast: American Thought Leaders
Episode: How a Little Known Technology Can Break China’s Rare Earths Stranglehold | Dr. James Tour
Description: In a few years, America may not need to buy critical minerals from China anymore, says synthetic chemist and nanotechnologist James Tour.Why? Because of a method called flash Joule heating that he and his team have been studying at Rice University.China currently has a near-monopoly on global processing capacity for critical minerals, including rare earths. These are essential to much of our modern economy, from electronics to defense to medical devices.The United States has access to plenty of rare-earth reserves, but minimal capacity to process and refine them. Rebuilding these...