Tag Archives: earths

China Flexes Superpower Status Using Rare Earths in Global Supply Chain Grab

China Flexes Superpower Status Using Rare Earths in Global Supply Chain Grab

(Bloomberg) — China’s sweeping new restrictions on rare earth exports mark its first major effort to police the global flow of critical minerals it dominates, using the same playbook that allows the US to wield power far beyond its shores. The rules announced last week require overseas companies to obtain Chinese government approval before exporting products containing even trace amounts …

Read More »

A massive weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field is growing, scientists discover

A massive weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field is growing, scientists discover

A weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field over the South Atlantic Ocean has ballooned in size since 2014, satellite data reveals. The region, known as the South Atlantic Anomaly, has grown by an area nearly half the size of continental Europe, sprouting a lobe in the direction of Africa where the field is weakening the fastest. And the anomaly, linked …

Read More »

Satellites reveal weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field keeps growing: “There’s something special happening”

Satellites reveal weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field keeps growing: “There’s something special happening”

A weak spot in the Earth’s magnetic field is growing over the South Atlantic Ocean, according to more than a decade’s worth of satellite data collected by scientists.  The magnetic field surrounding Earth protects the planet from cosmic radiation and particles charged by the sun. Scientists believe it is generated by the outer core of the Earth, according to a …

Read More »

Swarm reveals growing weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field

Swarm reveals growing weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field

Applications 13/10/2025 5053 views 25 likes Using 11 years of magnetic field measurements from the European Space Agency’s Swarm satellite constellation, scientists have discovered that the weak region in Earth’s magnetic field over the South Atlantic – known as the South Atlantic Anomaly – has expanded by an area nearly half the size of continental Europe since 2014. Earth’s magnetic …

Read More »

China and Rare Earth Metals, Chips and Rare Earths, The U.S.’s Self-Inflicted Challenge – Stratechery by Ben Thompson

China and Rare Earth Metals, Chips and Rare Earths, The U.S.’s Self-Inflicted Challenge – Stratechery by Ben Thompson

China is instituting controls on rare earths, which are essential for technology, that look like chip controls; we can fix the problem by building, but we might not be able to. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and …

Read More »

“A Giant Dent in Earth’s Magnetic Field”: NASA Warns the South Atlantic Anomaly Is Growing—and Splitting in Two

“A Giant Dent in Earth’s Magnetic Field”: NASA Warns the South Atlantic Anomaly Is Growing—and Splitting in Two

IN A NUTSHELL 🛰️ NASA monitors the South Atlantic Anomaly, a region impacting satellite operations due to weakened magnetic intensity. 🌌 The anomaly poses risks to spacecraft systems by exposing them to charged solar particles. 🔍 Research reveals the SAA’s dynamic evolution, including a potential split into two distinct cells. 🧭 The anomaly’s broader implications affect Earth’s magnetic field and …

Read More »

US trade envoy Jamieson Greer calls China’s new rare earths curb a ‘power grab’

US trade envoy Jamieson Greer calls China’s new rare earths curb a ‘power grab’

The outlook for US-China relations appeared to hit another snag on Sunday when the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that China had rebuffed an attempt to communicate, even as US President Donald Trump appeared to downplay the ongoing trade differences. This follows Trump’s threat on Friday to impose an extra 100 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods starting …

Read More »