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"Kryptonite" was discovered in the mine

A mineral whose chemical formula is almost identical to the substance described in the movie Superman Returns has been identified in Serbia * The physical properties of the substance are completely different from those seen by the screenwriter * It also has commercial value

Jadarit. Photo: The Natural History Museum in Great Britain
Jadarit. Photo: The Natural History Museum in Great Britain
A new mineral that matches in its unique chemistry the material depicted in the movie Superman Returns, has been identified in a mine in Serbia. According to the comic book-turned-film series, the kryptonite was supposed to suppress Superman's superpower whenever he was exposed to large green crystals. The real mineral is white and harmless, says Dr. Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at the Natural History Museum in London.
"I'm afraid it's not green and it's not bright - even though we managed to make it react to ultraviolet radiation, and glow in a phosphorescent pink-orange color," he said. The conclusion - the screenwriter should have consulted scientists before inventing a chemical formula.

The researchers working for the mining company Rio Tinto discovered the mineral and sought the help of Dr. Stanley when they were unable to match it with any substance known to science. The London expert revealed the structure of the mineral, and was surprised to discover that the formula exists in literature - but not in scientific literature, but rather in science fiction.

"Towards the end of the research I did a search on the Internet, when instead of a keyword I put the formula - sodium, lithium, boron and silicate water, and I was surprised to find out that a rock known as kryptonite was stolen by Lex Luthor from a museum in the movie Superman Returns.

The only difference is that the new mineral does not contain fluorine (as in the movie) and is white and not green in color, but in all other respects, the chemistry matches a rock containing kryptonite.

This is a relatively hard material but it contains very small grains. The size of each individual crystal is less than 5 microns (millionth of a millimeter).

Identifying the atomic structure required the use of sophisticated analysis equipment from the National Research Council of Canada and the assistance and experience of researchers Dr. Pamela Whitfield and Dr. Yvonne LePage. "Knowing the crystal structure of a material means for the scientists the ability to calculate other physical properties of the material such as its elasticity or its thermo-mechanical properties." De la Page explains. "Being able to analyze all the properties of the material, both chemical and physical, brings us closer to confirming that it is indeed a unique material."

"The discovery that it is a chemical composition of a substance that corresponds to an invented formula of the imaginary substance kryptonite is considered a coincidence that can happen once in a lifetime." added

According to the rules of scientific nomenclature, it is not possible to call the mineral kryptonite because it has nothing to do with krypton - a real element in the periodic table, which appears in gaseous form. Instead, it will be officially called Jadarite, in an article to be published in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year. Jadar is the name of the place where the mine is located in Serbia where the material was discovered.

According to Stanley, the mineral occurs in deposits large enough to have commercial value. It includes boron and lithium - two essential ingredients used in many applications. Boron-silicate glass is used to store and seal nuclear waste and lithium is used in batteries and the medical industry.

8 תגובות

  1. There is indeed a gas called krypton and it is considered one of the noble gases (next to neon, casnon, etc...), surely everyone knows that the origin of the element's name comes from the Latin word for "hidden" (so I think), the term "cryptic" also describes another word, for example... "Cryptozoology", which is the study of mystical creatures such as...Bigfoot or Nessie and the like...by the way...in Superman's universe there are several types of kryptonite, each of which affects Superman in a different way...green-weakens him and with long exposure causes his death...red-affects his mind and behavior ...gold-takes his powers and silver-which affects vegetation, but does not really harm Superman...and there are other types...but if they sell much more, maybe they will discover more elements and even in the future they will be able to create artificial versions of existing elements, who knows and maybe we will find the truth among the stars ….

  2. Note that on the axn channel there is a program called Smallville (small village) the content tells us about the young life of Superman and in 90% of the programs there is a lot of mention of the green kryptonite. Broadcast at 4:40 in the afternoon

  3. To the point - the fact that the substance does not do what was expected of it (color, properties, etc.), you can only complain to the author of the script who did not consult a chemist.
    Lenir - if you are right, then even big and good sites like the BBC website got confused?

  4. Sorry to be the first to know this popular individual.
    But the kryptonite *takes* Superman's powers

  5. The day will come when they discover a man with the qualities of Superman, only without the strength, and his ability to fly. And according to the rules of scientific nomenclature, they won't be able to call him Superman because the super doesn't fit.

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