I don’t know why my news-portal always announces news as new and present, although they are pretty old. Mostly they use Wikipedia for their “news”. It’s ridiculous.
But sometimes these old stories are very interesting like this they announced yesterday as ultimate news:
The British scientist Chris Stanley has discovered a new mineral in 2006, which is very similar to the mysterious Kryptonite from “Superman Returns”. This unknown white rock was found in a mine in Serbia. When he examined it he found out that the composition is very similar to the crystal, which lets superman’s power fade. Stanley searched the internet for the chemical formula of the rock: Sodium, Lithium, Boron, Silicate and Hydroxide – and he found out that this chemical formula already had been published, but not in a scientific magazine, but in the film “Superman returns”. On the vessel the bad man Lex Luthor has stolen from the museum to rob Superman’s power, there can be read: Sodium Lithium Boron Silicate Hydroxide.
But there are also a few differences between the real substance and the fictive Kryptonite: The real mineral doesn’t content Fluorine and Kryptonium. The element Kryptonium doesn’t really exist. It’s science fiction. It is an element with the atomic number 126. The heaviest existing element is Roentgenium with the atomic number 111 and the last natural element is Uranium with the atomic number 92. The atomic number means that the core of this element has as much protons as the number says. So Kryptonium would be an ultra-heavy element. All these very heavy elements are radioactive, but Kryptonium wouldn’t be dangerous for humans in the comic, but only for Kryptonians like Superman. In this case there would be a radioactivity-like radiation which also could kill Superman.
But Stanley didn’t want to name the new mineral Kryptonite, but Jadarite after the place where it was found: The region Jadar. Kryptonite is also not a possible name, because it would be a hint on the element Krypton, which the new mineral doesn’t content. In the comic the name Kryptonite also has to do with Krypton. But in this case it’s named after the destroyed home planet Krypton, where Superman is from. The first time Kryptonite was mentioned was in 1945 in the Superman Radio Show. It has been feigned to explain the change of Superman’s voice. The original Superman speaker was ill, so another speaker had to fill in for him. The first time it appeared in a comic was in December 1949. Then it was still red, but had the same effects like the later green variety. Until today Kryptonite is the only tool to weaken Superman’s power.
The real mineral Jadarite is totally harmless. It is not green and it doesn’t radiate. Stanley will describe the element more detailed in the “European Journal of Mineralogy”. In May this mineral will be displayed in London. By the way, it looks very insipidly - just white.
Picture: Superman with Kryptonite-poisoning
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Sources:
- t-online.de
- Wikipedia
- http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/pages/pertable_fla.htm
- Christen; Einführung in die Chemie, Aachen, Frankfurt 1977
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