Rare earth magnets are used in all of our military planes defensive flares. We can only get them from China. The company that makes the flares has to get special government waivers to use them at great effort and paperwork costs. Big government will be our downfall
Are these samarium cobalt magnets, or one of the “neodymium” family?
The last time I looked, a few years ago, I could buy any grade I wanted in any quantity I wanted, that I had the $$ for, from Chinese suppliers, hindered only by typical customs paperwork and the fact that if they were supplied magnetized, they can’t be shipped in quantity by air.
I can build these into any commercial device I like, provided it passes the same sort of safety regs as most anything else. A “neo” magnet built into some device like a drill or headphones is far safer than, say, lithium based batteries.
Now, granted I don’t have millions of $$ to spend on magnets, so maybe in the case of really big purchases, some sort of restrictions set in??? And, it IS a bit crazy that we have not maintained at least a modest domestic supply for military use, since we have the ore...