Itelmen engaged in fishing, their rich mythology from nineteenth century anthropologists explore. In recent years there has been active study and life of the people.
imagine the surprise of St. Petersburg specialists, when they undertook to study the crystalline structure of the mineral discovered near the volcano Tolbachik. It turned out that it has a striking similarity with traditional ornaments of the Itelmen people.
the Researchers decided to name the new mineral in honor of the people of Kamchatka – Itelmens. Mineral its structure is similar with synthetic substances that produce sodium-ion batteries, it is composed of atoms of sulfur, magnesium and copper. Scientists believe that in the future, the prototype of this mineral can be used to create powerful batteries and accumulators of new generation.
in Addition to italianita the expedition was discovered two minerals, they also received names in honor of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka – corekit and aleutia.
the Minerals are very unusual. So, aleuti consists of two negatively charged ion, and it consists of 13 chemical elements. Copper gives aleutica magnetic properties, and in the wide channels of the mineral contains chloride electroneutral complexes which contain copper, potassium, lead, rubidium and cesium. Researchers believe that due to its structure aleutia should possess the properties of a quantum spin liquid. Theoretically, substances with such properties can be used to create quantum computers.
the Unusual structure and karakita, at first glance, it seemed scientists similar to anhydrous aluminum sulfate. But it turned out that some of the aluminum replaced by magnesium, and in the channels was discovered potassium and magnesium ions. In terms of the crystalline structure of a mineral refers to a class of substances NASICON. They actively synthesized, there are hundreds of types of such substances, they are widely used in industry, for example, in the manufacture of batteries and batteries with a large capacity. But the nature of substances of this class almost never occur. Researchers do not exclude that corekit could be the prototype to create a new material class NASICON.
Now scientists are trying to synthesize these substances in laboratories.
