Rare earth may refer to:
*
Rare-earth element
The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or (in context) rare-earth oxides or sometimes the lanthanides (yttrium and scandium are usually included as rare earths), are a set of 17 nearly-indistinguishable lustrous silve ...
s, a group of elements on the periodic table
*
Rare-earth mineral
A rare-earth mineral contains one or more rare-earth elements as major metal constituents. Rare-earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to peralkaline igneous complexes, in pegmatites associated with alkaline magmas and in o ...
, a mineral substantively composed of these elements
*
Rare-earth magnet
Rare-earth magnets are strong permanent magnets made from alloys of rare-earth elements. Developed in the 1970s and 1980s, rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made, producing significantly stronger magnetic fields than ...
, a type of magnet that employs rare earth elements to increase effectiveness
*
Rare Earth hypothesis
In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life and the evolution of biological complexity such as sexually reproducing, multicellular organisms on Earth (and, subsequently, human intelligenc ...
, the theory that complex life in the universe is exceptionally rare
* as a proper noun:
** ''
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe'', a book by Peter Ward and Donald E. Brownlee
**
Rare Earth (band)
Rare Earth was an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan. According to ''Louder'', "Rare Earth’s music straddles genres and defies categorisation, slipping seamlessly between the two seemingly disparate worlds of classic rock and R&B." T ...
, an American musical group
**
Rare Earth Records
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
, a subsidiary of Motown Records which produced rock music
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