Magnets Without Rare Earths: How Physics Informed AI Is Racing to Break China's Critical Minerals Grip - July 6, 2026

Magnets Without Rare Earths: How Physics Informed AI Is Racing to Break China's Critical Minerals Grip Researchers at Ames National Laboratory have published an AI driven roadmap for designing powerful permanent magnets that contain no rare earth elements, fusing first principles physics with high throughput simulation and reasoning based AI to invent materials before they are ever made in a lab. Chris and Laura dig into why China's near total grip on rare earth magnets is a national security problem, how physics informed models differ from data trained ones, the MagNex magnet that was designed roughly two hundred times faster than tradition allows, and why the skeptics urging patience may be just as right as the optimists. Hosted by Chris and Laura. The DX Today Podcast brings you daily deep dives into the most consequential stories in the AI ecosystem. #AI #MaterialsScience #RareEarths #PhysicsInformedAI #CriticalMinerals