Fans of Marvel or DC stories must have heard of some of the strongest material in the universe. Starting from Uru, vibranium, adamantium, up to the nth metal, the most resistant materials from the outside Land a mere story.
Well, it turns out that recently that story came true. Researchers have discovered two new minerals from asteroid which landed on Earth in 2020 ago. What minerals are they? Come on, look at the facts!
From the meteorite that fell in 2020
In their report, the researchers recounted the findings of two minerals from a meteorite weighing 15.2 tons named El Ali. Just for information, according to the data The Meteorological Society, El Ali fell to Earth, precisely in Somalia, in 2020 ago.
The two new minerals were recovered from a 70 gram slice sent to University of Alberta (U of A) to Canada for analysis. Professor a Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences U of AChris Herd, was proud of these results and presented them to Space Exploration Symposium 2022 on November 21, 2022.
“That’s what makes this discovery amazing: In this meteorite, you can see two minerals that are new to science,” Herd said in an official statement.
Collaborate with University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Herd said El Ali is one of 350 meteorites in the “Iron, IAB complex” category. This mineral discovery occurred while Herd was analyzing the meteor for classification.
Herd then asked the division chief for help Electronic microprobe laboratory Of U of AAndrew Locock. When first examined, Locock said there were at least two new minerals in the meteorite. This discovery was pretty quick because the two minerals had apparently been “synthesized,” so they were easy to compare.
“Amazing. Most new material discoveries require extra effort,” Herd added.
Life association and Elkinstantonitetwo new minerals
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The two minerals are named Life association (Fe2+8Fe3+(PO4)O8) e Elkinstantonite (Fe4(PO4)2O). First name Life association comes from the name of the meteorite, El Ali. The name of this meteorite also comes from the place where the meteorite was found, El Ali town, Hiiraan, Somalia.
Herd gave his name to the second mineral Elkinstantonite in honour of Vice President of Arizona State University (ASU) Interplanetary Initiative, Lindy Elkins Tanton. In addition to the professors of ASU School of Earth and Space ExplorationLindy is also the mission’s lead researcher Psyche NASA.
Launched in October 2023, NASA explains the mission Psyche To send probe to check Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun, between Mars and Jupiter. Interesting, Psyche it has a nickel-iron core which is the “main material” of our Solar System.
“Lindy contributed a great deal and explained how planetary cores form, how nickel-iron nuclei form, and the closest analogue today is iron meteorites. Hence, it is fitting to name this new mineral in honor of the contribution of Lindy to science.” Herd said.
Transferred to China, can it be widely used?
While there are already two new minerals, the researchers say there is potential for more new minerals in meteorites El Ali. According to Herd, this could be explored again if there were more samples from the meteorite.
“There is still a lot of material that can be found. More samples need to reach the hands of researchers so that we can discover more new materials,” Herd said in his presentation.
Currently, researchers are still analyzing these minerals to determine the conditions for meteorite formation El Ali. With the discovery of this new mineral, Herd said it’s possible the world will start looking for ways to use this mineral.
Even if the future El Ali still unclear, Herd heard it meteorite it was transferred to China for sale. Will China or its buyers share samples with researchers for review? Just pray, it’s okay!
Read also: Don’t get confused! This is the difference between meteors, asteroids and comets
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