When was kryptonite discovered

It turns out that this mineral had already been described—in Superman comic books and movies. The formula is an exact match for Kryptonite , the fictional mineral. Kryptonite, according to DC Comics, was created when the planet Krypton blew up. Stanley explains:. As true fans know, green kryptonite is the most common variety, taking away Superman's powers and eventually killing him.

Don't tell me it's fake. Of course, many would argue "reality TV" isn't "real" at all. Just don't be telling me Superman doesn't exist. I'm still getting over the whole Santa Claus thing.

Hat tip to Rich , who knows I'm a Superman fan like Seinfeld. Stanley explains: "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 Luther from a museum in the film Superman Returns.

Quick to spot a good plot device "technovelgy" , writers soon introduced variations like gold, red, white and blue kryptonite. The worst of these is gold kryptonite, which removes Superman's powers permanently. Superman Shows Off Kryptonite Collection Real "kryptonite" that is, sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide is not a cool, glowing mineral; rather, it is a boring white, harmless substance. Stanley hastens to add, however, that it fluoresces a pinkish-orange under ultraviolet light.

Scientists are not allowed to use the name "Kryptonite" for the mineral owing to their insistence on following the stodgy, dusty international nomenclature rules that note that "krypton" is a real element.

They will call it "jadarite" instead, after the town near the mine where it was found. If you are interested in unusual real-life materials with science-fictional qualities, take a look at these articles: Metal-like Polymer Developed In South Korea Who would ever think of flexible, extrudable plastic with the same properties as metal wire? SF authors, that's who. Krypton is present in the air at about 1 ppm.

In its initial sense, Kryptonite referred to a mineral from the planet Krypton which had an extremely harmful effect on Superman. The name of that meteor is kryptonite. An example of kryptonite is the one food a person is seriously allergic to.