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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
 Posted - 05/27/2007 : 22:01:28
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Posted below are parts of an article posted in Friday's May 25, 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
What Will We Do When Gallium Runs Out?
Indium, gallium and hafniumn are some of the least known elements onf the periodic table, but New Scientist warns that reserves of these low-profile minerals and others like them might soon be exhausted thanks to the demand for flat screens and other high-tech goods.
Scientist who have tried to estimate how long the world's mineral supply can meet global demand have made some gloomy predictions. Armin Reller, a materials chemists at the University of Augsburg in Germany, estimates that in 10 years the world will run out of of idiumn, used for making liquid-crystal displays for flat screen televisions sets and computer monitors. He also predicts that the world will run out of zinc by 2037, and hafnium, an increasingly important part of computer chips, by 2017. ...........
...................If the most dire predictions are true, recycling of rare metals will be the only way to manufacture some gadgets and machines as demand grows in the developing world. Mr. Kleijn says that a lot of copper could be freeded up by replacing cities' copper pipes with plastic ones. Hazel Prichrd a geologist at the University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom, also is developing ways to extract platinum, a vital component in catalytic converters and fuel cells, from the dust and grime of city streets. Apparently, urban grit contains 1.5 parts per million of platinum.
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Fanaticism is doubling one's efforts, yet forgetting one's purpose.
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What will we do.............
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