All the more reason to fetch some meteoroids as many have a high content of these rare elements.
Terry On Jan 6, 2008 1:24 PM, Michael Foster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's an interesting article concerning rare elements and the world economy. > > http://www.science.org.au/nova/newscientist/027ns_005.htm > > An excerpt: > > ================================= > > Armin Reller, a materials chemist at the University of Augsburg in Germany, > and his colleagues are among the few groups who have been investigating the > problem. He estimates that we have, at best, 10 years before we run out of > indium. Its impending scarcity could already be reflected in its price: in > January 2003 the metal sold for around $60 per kilogram; by August 2006 the > price had shot up to over $1000 per kilogram. > > Uncertainties like this pose far-reaching questions. In particular, they call > into doubt dreams that the planet might one day provide all its citizens with > the sort of lifestyle now enjoyed in the west. A handful of geologists around > the world have calculated the costs of new technologies in terms of the > materials they use and the implications of their spreading to the developing > world. All agree that the planet's booming population and rising standards of > living are set to put unprecedented demands on the materials that only Earth > itself can provide. Limitations on how much of these materials is available > could even mean that some technologies are not worth pursuing long term. > > Take the metal gallium, which along with indium is used to make indium gallium > arsenide. This is the semiconducting material at the heart of a new generation > of solar cells that promise to be up to twice as efficient as conventional > designs. Reserves of both metals are disputed, but in a recent report René > Kleijn, a chemist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, concludes that > current reserves "would not allow a substantial contribution of these cells" > to > the future supply of solar electricity. He estimates gallium and indium will > probably contribute to less than 1 per cent of all future solar cells - a > limitation imposed purely by a lack of raw material. > > ================================ > > Considering that indium and gallium are already experiencing a geometric price > rise, I don't think the future of Nanosolar looks too bright. Research into > photovoltaics not depending on such scarce metals should be a priority. > > Of course, even more preferable would be serious funding of cold fusion. > > M. > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better friend, newshound, and > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > >
