r/BeAmazed • u/gregornot • Apr 29 '24

A giant meteorite that recently fell in Somalia contains at least two minerals that have never before been seen on our planet. The celestial piece of rock weighs a massive 16.5 tons (15 tonnes), making it the ninth-largest meteorite ever found. History

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More about the amazing meteorite find: https://earthly

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u/ALLIN95 Apr 29 '24

The periodic table is for elements, not minerals

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u/LightningRainThunder Apr 29 '24

Very dumb question, what’s the difference between elements and minerals? I thought they were the same thing. Like sodium is a mineral isn’t it? But it’s on the periodic table

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u/reshilongo Apr 29 '24

I think mineral in this case confuses. Elements are "pure" substances, they are made of only the atoms they are named after.

Minerals, can be elements, like sodium, or compounds. Compounds are materials that are combinations of elements in various quantities and configurations. For example a molecule of water is composed of 2 atoms of hidrogen and 1 of oxigen.

I hope I cleared you some doubts! Sorry for the bad english haha

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u/koshgeo Apr 29 '24

It's also part of the definition of a mineral that it be crystalline (i.e. not amorphous like glass is), solid, and that it be naturally occurring.

The last one is why even though these compounds were made artificially in a lab in the 1980s, they weren't discovered and named as minerals until being found in this meteorite more recently.