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Kryptonite found in Serbia
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:17 pm
by Richard K Niner
linky
Watch out, Superman! Kryptonite found on Earth
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 | 12:12 PM ET
CBC News
Canadian scientists have discovered a new mineral here on Earth that matches the chemical description of kryptonite, the substance that robs comic book hero Superman of his powers.
The mineral, discovered by geologists in a mine in Jadar, Serbia, has the chemical formula sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, the same formula used to describe kryptonite in the 2006 film Superman Returns.
But the similarities end there, said Pamela Whitfield, a scientist from the National Research Council's Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology in Ottawa.
While the interstellar rocks from the comic books were typically green glowing crystals, the new mineral is a white, powdery substance with no radioactive qualities.
"It's definitely not radioactive," Whitfield told CBC News Online. "I was working with it for weeks and I haven't grown a second head or anything."
Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London enlisted the aid of Whitfield and Yvon Le Page from the NRC to determine if the substance was indeed a new mineral. Whitfield performed a process called powder diffraction to analyze its structure and Le Page was able to confirm the results.
Whitfield said that outside the coincidence of its chemical name, the substance is relatively unremarkable. Around 30 to 40 new minerals are discovered on Earth each year, she said.
The mineral will be named jadarite, after the town where it was discovered. It cannot be called kryptonite because it does not contain krypton, an inert gas already found in the periodic table of elements.
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:22 pm
by Luke B.
Woah. *wants some*
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:25 pm
by Tom Flapwell
Well, not all kryptonite is supposed to be radioactive, right? Maybe that's the only green kind.
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:45 pm
by Richard K Niner
Well, not all kryptonite is supposed to be radioactive, right? Maybe that's the only green kind.
According to sources I've run across, this is either the white or the pink variety (it turns orange-pink under certain light, according to the
BBC).
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:19 pm
by Loeln
Research will be sponsored generously by Luther Corp.
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:14 pm
by Rooster
Superman was rubbish anyway. I mean, a hero that has just one weakness isn't fun at all. Bring back Ghost Rider...(not the film version)
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:44 pm
by Bocaj Claw
What weaknesses does a skeletonified cyclist have?
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:51 pm
by Rooster
Bonitis
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:15 am
by osprey
Wonder what would happen if this powder were exposed to EXTREME HEATS and MELTED DOWN TO THE POINT OF CRYSTALLIZING! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:21 am
by Rikirk
What weaknesses does a skeletonified cyclist have?
Apparently his girlfriend Eva Mendez.
*Am I the only one who liked Ghost Rider?*
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:06 pm
by Rooster
If you mean the film, then yes. Yes you are.
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:11 am
by Muninn
How does it match the chemical description of kryptonite exactly? Were the details of kryptonite published in one of the comics?
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:50 pm
by osprey
The mineral, discovered by geologists in a mine in Jadar, Serbia, has the chemical formula sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, the same formula used to describe kryptonite in the 2006 film Superman Returns.