Superman is dead, but Kryptonite lives on

Posted Apr 30th 2007 at 12:28PM by Anne Metz (Subscribe to Anne Metz's posts)

I dare say that when the Superman comic was created back in 1932, Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster never imagined that their hero Superman would die and that his one weakness would turn out to be real.

But both have happened. In 1992, Superman was killed off, and now in 2007, Kryptonite has been discovered in a Serbian mine.

The mineral was discovered by Dr. Chris Stanley, a researcher at London's Natural History Museum. The real Kryptonite isn't green and doesn't glow, but it does bear a strong resemblance to the chemical composition described in the film Superman Returns.

Not a sworn Superman fan, Stanley actually discovered the compositional resemblance to the famed compound while searching the web. He told BBC: "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.

Pretty crazy, isn't it?

Source

Tags: kryptonite, science, superman

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

JJ 5-05-2007 @ 8:34PM

COOL< VERY COOL DUDE!

johnjmaes 5-05-2007 @ 8:34PM

COOL DUDE,VERY COOL!!!!

Fishnlwayr 5-05-2007 @ 8:47PM

Superman's dead????? I knew I hadn't seen him around for years but I didn't know....

Randall 5-05-2007 @ 8:58PM

Dear Anne... I hate to pop your bubble of discovering Kryptonite in a mine that is composed of all those elements you mentioned... But in fact Krypton is an element in it's own right... It is the 36th element in the periodic table and was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay... It is a noble gas that is naturally found in the air at around 1 part per million by volume of the gasses that comprise the atmosphere... So you are breathing it everyday!... So if Superman truly existed he would either die or be feeling under the weather, at least, from breathing our atmosphere!...

sideways00711 5-05-2007 @ 9:25PM

I am NOT DEAD Yet, however I will take care of that stash before the wrong people get ahold of it.
SuperMan

kramer 5-05-2007 @ 9:41PM

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh kramer kramer kramer i made him out of kramer and when he's dry and ready oh kramer i shall play. (to the tune of the dreidel song). any i like stuff and spider-man can whoop supa-mans big butt. ok maybe not but spidey is just so much cooler.

Aida 5-05-2007 @ 11:22PM

Yeah, Randall is right. Kryptonite is an element, not a compound. You might wanna check your facts before posting something like that.

kate 5-05-2007 @ 11:28PM

Randall, it is true that Krypton is an element, it still has nothing to do with Kryptonite. Kryptonite the mineral doesn't contain the element Krypton, it just has a similar name. They are not the same thing.

Anthony 5-06-2007 @ 11:29PM

True, the gas is already real...but the article is saying that in ADDITION to the already known gas, now there is a rock compound containing the same elements as the fictional rock....thats all....no one said that there has never existed a "kryptonite" at all...although I doubt the gas is in anyway related to the newly discoverd rock...obviously

crystal4753 5-06-2007 @ 12:06AM

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.

Power possibilities

Instead, it will be formally named jadarite when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.

chris 5-06-2007 @ 12:32AM

I concur with kate.

Addison 5-06-2007 @ 1:02AM

Anyone who says that Kryptonite is an element clearly has no scientific background. KRYPTON is a gas that is very different from fictional Kryptonite. You should have figured that out when you called it a noble GAS.

Edna 5-06-2007 @ 1:10AM

If you had actually READ the article...
"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. "

Edna 5-06-2007 @ 1:14AM

If any of you brain surgeons had actually READ the article, you might have noticed this tidbit of info:

"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. "

Jim 5-06-2007 @ 1:18AM

I'm not suprised that Superman died, after all, Batman kicked his butt, and his only superpower is about a 240 IQ. The krypyonite laced gloves he was wearing probably helped too. ever since then, Supes has changed into a real wuss, and he's still a virgin. (see "Man of steel, woman of tissue paper" by Larry Niven if you don't believe it)

Super nothing 5-06-2007 @ 5:17AM

Be careful! There is a rock that resembles kryptonite and is often mistaken for the real thing. Sort of like "fools gold". This rock will not harm Kal-El (supermans real name) but will make humans shrink to the size of a mouse. I know because it happened to me!

Allie 5-06-2007 @ 5:31AM

Recently, a mining group in Serbia discovered a new mineral, called Jadarite, the chemical formula of which is sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, the chemical formula for Kryptonite written on a case of the substance in the film "Superman Returns". The newly discovered mineral was first analyzed by Dr. Chris Stanley, a minerologist at the London Natural History Museum. However, the 'real' Kryptonite does not appear to have anything in common with the film's version other than the chemical formula. The new mineral is white, or pinkish under ultra violet light, hard in texture but chalky in appearance, and made of tiny crystals less than 5 microns in diameter. It does not possess any of Kryptonite's supernatural powers.

Vince 5-09-2007 @ 4:44AM

Gas? GAS!!! Do you guys realize you're arguing about Gases and compounds, etc? Get a life losers, better yet get laid! lol Who cares? Dorks!
Now if anyone wants to talk about cool things, like what types of dylithium Crystals are needed to repair a standard Enterprise class battleship's hyperdrives in order to achieve Warp 9 through a sustained wormhole without bending the timespace continuem, then I'm all game...uhm I got to get back to my world of warcraft game now.

Buddy 5-06-2007 @ 6:49AM

I dare Say Doctor Watson. It seems ELAMET-TARie to me! Super Man is surely not dead. HE was just seen by very reputable people. At the Burger King in Grand rapids Mich. With Elvis, Nichol (YOU KNOW WHO) and Sanity Clause (the real Tim the Tool man). Now if the part of the first part, is conected to the second part, and the leg bone is conected to the knee bone. Acording to Einstine,,,this could be a Revolting develepment. (Life or Riley quote). Has anyone looked into the fine print in this Unscientific Report. line 103 right after the Sanity Clause. Everyone knows there is no Sanity Clause (Harpo Marx Quote)