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Chernobylite is a technogenic compound, a
crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...
zirconium silicate with a high (up to 10%) content of
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
as a solid solution. It was discovered in the corium produced in the
Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
, a
lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
-like
glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
y material formed in the nuclear meltdown of reactor core 4.Valeriy Soyfer "Chernobylite: Technogenic Mineral", Khimiya i Zhizn', No 11, Nov. 1990, p. 12, i
Science & Technology USSR: Chemistry
JPRS Report. 27 March 1991. p. 29.
Chernobylite is highly
radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
due to its high
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
content and contamination by fission products.


See also

*
Trinitite Trinitite, also known as atomsite or Alamogordo glass, is the glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based Trinity (nuclear test), Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The glass is primaril ...
* Elephant's foot


References


External links


Pictures of Chernobylite
(in Spanish)
The Most Dangerous Object On Earth!
Chernobyl disaster Nesosilicates Uranium minerals {{Silicate-mineral-stub