Kryptonite, which robbed Superman of his powers, is no longer the stuff of comic books and films.
A mineral found by geologists in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional kryptonite from outer space, used by the superhero’s nemesis Lex Luther to weaken him in the film “Superman Returns”.
“We will have to be careful with it — we wouldn’t want to deprive Earth of its most famous superhero!,” said Dr Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London’s Natural History Museum.
Stanley, who revealed the identity of the mysterious new mineral, discovered the match after searching the Internet for its chemical formula – sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide.
“I was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film Superman Returns,” he said.
The substance has been confirmed as a new mineral after tests by scientists at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Research Council in Canada.
But instead of the large green crystals in Superman comics, the real thing is a white, powdery substance which contains no fluorine and is non-radioactive.
From Wikipedia
Jadarite is a white, powdery, non-radioactive monoclinic mineral whose chemical formula is sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide: LiNaSiB3O7(OH) or Na2OLi2O(SiO2)2(B2O3)3H2O. It was discovered in November 2006, in drill holes in the Jadar Valley in Serbia, from which it is named. It was confirmed as a new mineral after scientists at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Research Council of Canada conducted tests on it. Exploration geologists from Rio Tinto Exploration discovered the mineral as small rounded nodules in drill core, and after being unable to match it with previously known minerals enlisted the expertise of Dr. Chris Stanley, from the Natural History Museum, who later described it as being unique to mineralogy.
Contents
Jadarite’s chemical formula is very close to the formula invented for the fictional substance kryptonite in the 2006 film Superman Returns. This coincidence attracted mass-media attention, and jadarite was covered by ABC, BBC, CNN, Washington Post, and Yahoo, among others.
The new mineral, unlike the fictional material in the movie, does not contain fluorine, does not emit electromagnetic radiation, and is white rather than green (although, in the Superman comics, there is a white colored variety of kryptonite). In all other respects the chemistry matches that of the rock containing kryptonite in the movie. The jadarite fluoresces a pinkish-orange color when exposed to UV light.
According to Dr. Stanley, jadarite would have some commercial value if sufficient deposits of it are found. Jadarite contains boron and lithium, two relatively rare elements with many uses. Processed radioactive waste is encapsuled by borosilicate glass, while lithium is used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
References:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadarite
- http://www.mindat.org/min-31570.html
