RARE METALS USED IN iPHONES

THE NEW NECESSITIES [for iPhones]

in Boston College Magazine, Spring 2016, pages 44-46

David S. Abraham, BC 1996

There is “magic” in the glass of an iPhone, due to rare metals. Here are some rare metals used in an iPhone:

Iridium              Malleable, the invisible link, a transparent conductor between your finger and the telephone

Europium & Terbium These rare metals provide the red and green hues.

Tantalum           Regulates the power in the phone.

Lithium             Stores power that makes the phone mobile.

Cerium              Used to buff the glass smooth to the molecular level.

Other metals he discusses although he doesn't specify their function in an iPhone:

Niobium          Ductile

Cadmium        Toxic

Thorium          Radioactive

Cobalt             Magnetic

Gallium           May melt in your hand.

Antimony        Helps resist fire.

Dysprosium & Neodymium

Contained in the rare earth permanent magnet. They help computer drives to retain information. (They also help to propel hybrid vehicles.)

Gallium & Indium

These rare metals are found in LED lights, along with rare earth elements. Cf. Edison's bulb which had a simple carbon filament.

Tellurium Most “rare metals” are called rare because they're mined in small quantities compared with, for example, copper. But Tellurium is geographically rare. It is used in metal alloys.

Some “nuggets” I found in the article:

• Decades ago scientists dismissed these elements as impurities.

• In the 1980s Steve Jobs bought the home of mining magnate Daniel Jackling.

• Intel used 16 elements in computer chips in 1990. Almost 60 elements are being used in computer chips by 2016.

• Trade in rare metals takes place in backrooms rather than on open commodity exchanges, obscuring the size of the markets and the market price.

• The world is fast becoming as dependent on rare metals as it is on oil.

David S. Abraham is the author of The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age, Yale University Press, 2015.