We've Found the Kryptonite! Now where's Superman?

[3113]

'Kryptonite' discovered in mine

Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes.
A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia.

According to movie and comic-book storylines, kryptonite is supposed to sap Superman's powers whenever he is exposed to its large green crystals. The real mineral is white and harmless, says Dr Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London's Natural History Museum.

"I'm afraid it's not green and it doesn't glow either - although it will react to ultraviolet light by fluorescing a pinkish-orange," he told BBC News.

Researchers from mining group Rio Tinto discovered the unusual mineral and enlisted the help of Dr Stanley when they could not match it with anything known previously to science. Once the London expert had unravelled the mineral's chemical make-up, he was shocked to discover this formula was already referenced in literature - albeit fictional literature.

"Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and 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.

"The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite."

The mineral is relatively hard but is very small grained. Each individual crystal is less than five microns (millionths of a metre) across.

Identifying its atomic structure required sophisticated analytical facilities at Canada's National Research Council and the assistance and expertise of its researchers, Dr Pamela Whitfield and Dr Yvon Le Page. "'Knowing a material's crystal structure means scientists can calculate other physical properties of the material, such as its elasticity or thermochemical properties," explained Dr Le Page.

"Being able to analyse all the properties of a mineral, both chemical and physical, brings us closer to confirming that it is indeed unique."

Finding out that the chemical composition of a material was an exact match to an invented formula for the fictitious kryptonite "was the coincidence of a lifetime," he added.

The mineral cannot be called kryptonite under international nomenclature rules because it has nothing to do with krypton - a real element in the Periodic Table that takes the form of a gas. Instead, it will be formally named Jadarite when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.

Jadar is the name of the place where the Serbian mine is located.

Dr Stanley said that if deposits occurred in sufficient quantity it could have some commercial value. It contains boron and lithium - two valuable elements with many applications, he explained.

"Borosilicate glasses are used to encapsulate processed radioactive waste, and lithium is used in batteries and in the pharmaceutical industries."

I'm kinda bummed that it doesn't glow green and can't be called Kryptonite. But I'm delighted that fiction got there first. Hmm. Do you suppose all those believers in Superman made it come into being?

Now, if we all concentrate hard enough, maybe the Man of Steel will appear to save us!

 

[neonlyte]

I'm kinda bummed that it doesn't glow green and can't be called Kryptonite. But I'm delighted that fiction got there first. Hmm. Do you suppose all those believers in Superman made it come into being?

Now, if we all concentrate hard enough, maybe the Man of Steel will appear to save us!

Will you make do with the man of rust?


What intrigued me was how they knew it was 'Kryptonite' - it is not as if they had anything to go by other than a sketchy flic-pic story.

 

[FatDino]

Will you make do with the man of rust?


What intrigued me was how they knew it was 'Kryptonite' - it is not as if they had anything to go by other than a sketchy flic-pic story.

Because it has the same chemical formula as described in the fiction, sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide or LiNaSiB3O7(OH). It just doesn't glow green.

 

[cloudy]

It just doesn't glow green.

Which is a huge bummer.

 

[neonlyte]

I guess if it had glowed, they would have found it earlier

 

[cloudy]

I guess if it had glowed, they would have found it earlier

true, that. Still, I mean...kryptonite's just supposed to glow, you know? Where's the fun in non-glowing kryptonite?

 

[kairotic]

Not to brag, but this morning I leaped a tall box of Corn Flakes in a single bound.

Then I flew. Back into the kitchen to get some more coffee.

Then I foiled a robbery by using my heat vision on the criminals' pistols.

That last bit is totally true.

 

[FatDino]

Which is a huge bummer.

I'm so glad you said bummer.

I guess if it had glowed, they would have found it earlier

Or not. Who knows, the government could have kept it in secret for decades.

I think people would go nuts if Jadarite did glow.

 

[FatDino]

Not to brag, but this morning I leaped a tall box of Corn Flakes in a single bound.

Then I flew. Back into the kitchen to get some more coffee.

Then I foiled a robbery by using my heat vision on the criminals' pistols.

That last bit is totally true.

LMAO...

 

[FatDino]

true, that. Still, I mean...kryptonite's just supposed to glow, you know? Where's the fun in non-glowing kryptonite?

But this isn't kryptonite!

 

[neonlyte]

But this isn't kryptonite!

No... it's non-glowing sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide

 

[FatDino]

No... it's non-glowing sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide

Precisely.