The origin of the neodymium magnets dates back to 1885 when Carl Auer von Welsbach, an Austrian scientist and inventor, separated didymium into the new separate elements neodidymium (“new didymium”) and praseodidymium (“green didymium”).  In time, the element names would change to neodymium and praseodymium. Neodymium (Nd) is the fourth member of the lanthanide ‘rare-earth…