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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThey have discovered unobtainium
A fireball that tears across the sky is not just a one-time skywatching event it can reap scientific dividends long afterward. In fact, one that lit up Mexico's skies in 1969 scattered thousands of meteorite bits across the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua. And now, decades later, that meteorite, named Allende, has divulged a new mineral called panguite.
Panguite is believed to be among the oldest minerals in the solar system, which is about 4.5 billion years old. Panguite belongs to a class of refractory minerals that could have formed only under the extreme temperatures and conditions present in the infant solar system.
The name of the titanium dioxide mineral, which has been approved by the International Mineralogical Association, honors Pan Gu, said in Chinese mythology to be the first living being who created the world by separating yin from yang (forming the earth and sky). [Infographic: The Science of Meteorites]
"Panguite is an especially exciting discovery since it is not only a new mineral, but also a material previously unknown to science," study researcher Chi Ma, a senior scientist at Caltech, said in a statement.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/1969-fireball-meteorite-mineral_n_1629464.html?utm_hp_ref=science
not found in Nature or created in a lab. could be explored for novel engineering materials meaning the Pentagon is probably interested.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)MineralMan
(146,329 posts)Thanks for posting.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)How else to explain phono cartridges that cost $10-15,000, $100,000 (and more) turntables and $200+ thousand dollar speaker systems.
bongbong
(5,436 posts)You're mistaking unobtainium for gullibarium, the actual mineral used in those expensive components.
NickB79
(19,258 posts)DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)Your literal PCedness is annoying.
TlalocW
(15,389 posts)Why not, I don't know.. Tlalocite to associate it with Mexican culture... Yes, it's part of my internet handle, but that has no bearing on my naming choice... really.
TlalocW
Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)He then wrote a paper all about it and how it could 'Never be found in Nature'. A short time later he got a call from a geologist with the USGS who had to thank him so very much for identifying the mineral since he had found a ton of the stuff in his work area and had no idea what it was.
Moral: Be careful about using 'not found in Nature'. Nature tends to come back and bite us on the A$$ when we say things like that.
(Besides, meteorites are part of Nature)
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)go write the author if your unhappy with their writings and that it doesnt fit into your neat little 'nature' box.
Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)Besides the article says "Until now, panguite had neither been seen in nature nor created in a lab" not "not found in Nature or created in a lab"
Nature is a wonder and things 'new to us' are being discovered all the time. I hope we never find out everything as that would make the universe and Nature a very boring place. I really don't need to worry too much about that though as Humans are too vain and egotistical to ever really know everything about the universe.
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)sorry it has created so much stress for you...
bongbong
(5,436 posts)I wonder how the creationist whack jobs will handle this.
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)white_wolf
(6,238 posts)we'll probably just use it to build better bombs.