Scientists discover Superman's worst nemesis - 'Kryptonite'

Geologists and mineralogists from mining group Rio Tinto said they have discovered an unusual Kryptonite like mineral, the only element lethal to Superman, in a remote area of Serbia, turning the stuff of science-fiction into fact.

Identified by the scientists at the Natural History Museum and Canada’s National Research Council, the new mineral has exactly the same elements as Kryptonite, the green crystals that as described in the film Superman Returns rob the superhero of his powers.

The new mineral matching the chemistry of the substance known as kryptonite in the superman movies has been discovered down a mine in Serbia, rather than coming out of outer space. And, unlike its famous counterpart which was green and hard (as shown in the movies), the real kryptonite is white, powdery and not radioactive.

Mineralogist Dr Chris Stanley, from the Natural History Museum, where the newly-discovered mineral is being held, said, “I was flabbergasted. It is exactly the same as the formula from the film other than that one contains some fluorine.”

"I'm afraid it's not green and it doesn't glow either - although it will react to ultraviolet light by fluorescing a pinkish-orange," he added.

Scientists have formally named the mineral Jadarite, after the Serbian region Jadar in which it was discovered. The mineral cannot be christened 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.

After discovering the unusual mineral in Serbia, scientists searched the Internet to see if there was any other known chemical compound like it. And they got stunned after finding that the new mineral shares the real-life characteristics of what had been the stuff of Superman movies: kryptonite, the chemical compound used to fight the famed flier.

“I nearly fell off my chair and straight away sent emails to all my colleagues who I'd worked with on this, telling them about it,” Dr Stanley said. 'The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite.”

In the movie, when Superman's arch enemy Lex Luthor steals a box of kryptonite from the Metropolis Museum, its case has kryptonite's chemical make-up written on the side: 'Sodium, lithium, boron, silicate, hydroxide with fluorine.'

A mineral's chemical properties, including its crystal structure must be rigorously tested, before it can be classified as new. And, as the recently found element did not have any traces in the recorded history of science, so the scientists concluded it was a new material.

Nearly 30-40 new mineral species are discovered each year, and generally come in the form of a few grains only visible under the microscope. The newly found mineral has several centimeters of drill core as well as a few bags of fragments. The mineral is relatively hard but is very small grained, with individual crystal that is less than five microns (millionths of a metre) across.

Because the crystals of the new mineral were too small to be tested through standard techniques, so Dr Stanley used the sophisticated analytical facilities at Canada's National Research Council (NRC) and the expertise of its researchers, Dr Pamela Whitfield and Dr Yvon Le Page.

The mineral contains boron and lithium, two valuable elements with many applications, and Dr Stanley says if deposits occurred in sufficient quantity it could have some commercial value.

"Borosilicate glasses are used to encapsulate processed radioactive waste, and lithium is used in batteries and in the pharmaceutical industries." The mineral could be used as a source of borate, which is used for cleaning, also known as borax.

Scientists from Natural Resources Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Nature will work together to ensure that the newly found unusual mineral is recognized by the international scientific community.