Tech Shout!

A newly-found mineral that contains the same elements as kryptonite- the fictional mineral used to sap Superman’s powers- has been identified in a mine in Serbia.

Unlike the fictional green rock, the newly-discovered real thing is at London’s Natural History Museum, and is white and powdery. This mineral does not even emit any form of radiation and comes from Jadar, Serbia rather than outer space as was suggested in Superman comics.

The mineral will be named Jadarite, although scientists have been tempted to christen the new mineral kryptonite.

Scientists who analyzed the astonishing find were shocked to find out that its chemical composition matched a description of kryptonite in the film Superman Returns. In the 2006 movie, Superman’s arch rival Lex Luthor steals a Kryptonite rock fragment from the Metropolis Museum. On the case (in the movie) was the words “sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine.”

According to mineralogist Dr.Chris Stanley, from the Natural History Museum, “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 Luthor from a museum in the film Superman Returns.”