Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts

24 April 2007

Now THIS is cool

The Real Kryptonite
The BBC reports that scientists have discovered a new mineral in a mine in Siberia. A mineral with a unique makeup. The chemical formula of the mineral is "sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide."

For those not in the 'know' that is almost exactly, but not quite, the chemical make of...wait for it... KRYPTONITE. That is correct boys and girls, the evil green crystal rock that makes Superman mere putty in the hands of his enemies.

In the movie "Superman Returns" evil doer Lex Luthor steals a box of kryptonite from a museum, the box contains the formula "sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with flourine" - an almost exact match to the mineral discovered in Jadar, Siberia. Sadly, they cannot pay homage to the 'inventors' of the chemical formula:
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, they are going to call it "Jadarite" after the place in which it was discovered. But hey, if only they could merge flourine with this stuff, maybe we'll have a defense when those pesky Kryptonians break out of the Phantom Zone and come looking for trouble!





Technorati Tags: , , , , ,