Kryptonite Discovered in Serbia
From news.com.au:
A newly-found mineral contains the same elements described in the fictional kryptonite used by the enemies of comic-book and film superhero Superman, a scientist says.
The white and powdery mineral at London’s Natural History Museum has been named instead jadarite after the Serb region where it was found, museum mineralogist Chris Stanley said.
In the 2006 movie Superman Returns, the superhero’s arch enemy Lex Luthor steals a kryptonite rock fragment from the Metropolis Museum. On the case are written the words “sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine”.
Mr Stanley said he searched the web using the mineral’s chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was “amazed” to discover the same scientific name used in the film.
“The new mineral does not contain fluorine and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite,” Mr Stanley said. …
Between 30 and 40 new minerals are discovered each year but before a mineral can be classified as new, its chemical properties including its crystalline structure, must be rigorously tested.
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Jadarite will be formally described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.