In 2014, there were more than 10 "persistent wars" worldwide, more than in other years since the beginning of the new century. The game between major powers has become increasingly fierce, regional wars have occurred frequently, and the world situation has become more turbulent. From the war in eastern Ukraine that has lasted for a year in Eastern Europe, to the intensifying extremist armed "Islamic State" in the Middle East, which has captured the vicinity of Damascus, the capital of Syria, and recently, Saudi Arabia and other countries have jointly launched air forces against the Houthis in Yemen. Decisive wind ***" air strikes. Looking forward to 2015, the complexity, variability and uncertainty faced by the international community are still prominent, the world situation is on the trend of intensifying, local wars will enter a period of frequent occurrences, and the continuation of wars will increase significantly.
In the context of frequent local wars in the world, the strategic metal status of small metals such as tungsten, antimony and germanium, which are widely used in the military manufacturing industry, is further highlighted. Strategic metals such as tungsten, antimony and germanium are irreplaceable basic materials and strategic resources for modern national defense due to their special properties and excellent performance, and play a vital role in national defense construction.
"Tungsten" has a good reputation as a war metal. The chemical properties of tungsten are very stable, and the melting point is as high as 3400 ° C, ranking first among all metals. The hardness of tungsten is extremely high, second only to diamond in nature. Therefore, tungsten alloys are widely used in mechanical and industrial industries. After adding tungsten, the hardness of steel will be greatly improved. In the field of metal processing, high-speed steel is an alloy containing tungsten. Due to its high heat resistance, tungsten is used in the aerospace industry as a thermal dissociator for gas turbines, rocket nozzles, nozzles, and ion rocket engines; nuclear engineering uses tungsten as a container for liquid metals, thermionic ion exchangers, etc. In the ****** industry, tungsten alloys are used in guns, gun launch tubes and armor-piercing projectiles. Another example is the projectiles used as armor-piercing bullets in the military, which are made of high-density alloy steel, tungsten carbide and other materials that are much harder than tank armor.
Antimony was known as a "war metal" as early as World War II. Because antimony can significantly increase the hardness of metals in alloys, it is often referred to as a hardener for metals or alloys. In the early 19th century, antimony was used as a hardener for lead to make shrapnel, which made the lead shot break easily when the shell exploded, increasing the lethality. At present, antimony is widely used in the manufacture of military ammunition. Meanwhile, antimony trioxide, an oxide of antimony, is used to make flame retardant materials. In the military industry, these flame retardants are widely used in tanks, warships, aircraft and other equipment, such as rubber pipes, equipment plastic casings, seat covers, etc.
Germanium is also an indispensable strategic resource for modern military applications, mainly in the field of infrared optics. Under the conditions of modern warfare, thermal imaging cameras have been widely used in individual combat systems, tanks, satellites, missiles, aircraft and other military equipment, which can realize reconnaissance, monitoring, positioning, accurate guidance, Accurate strike and other functions. In 2011, the military industry accounted for 88% of the germanium demand for infrared optics. The United States even listed germanium as a national defense reserve resource as early as 1984. At present, the inventory of the Strategic Materials Department of the United States Defense Logistics Agency is still more than 16 tons. Taking the Gulf War in the United States as an example, the US military is equipped with 1.7 units per person, and the number of infrared thermal imagers is more than 200,000 units. Some industry experts estimate that each device needs 700 grams of germanium, and 140 tons of germanium are needed.
As strategic metals, the consumption of small metals such as tungsten, antimony and germanium often increased rapidly during the war, and the prices were high. As the largest producer of tungsten, antimony and germanium, my country is also the largest supplier in the world, but it has long lacked the international pricing power and discourse power of strategic metals, and a large number of strategic resources have been sold at low prices. Protection is imperative.
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