A video shared by African Archives went viral over the weekend on Twitter. The video was about the discovery of an electric rock which some quickly tagged as 'Vibranium'.
Electrically charged stones discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. pic.twitter.com/RB6N5U7Slq
— Africa Archives ™ (@Africa_Archives) January 21, 2023
The video has so far generated over 11 million views and various tweeter users gave their opinions about the rock. One user said jokingly that the Bitcoin mining industry would like the discovery.
*every bitcoin mining company* likes this
— Joe Nakamoto (@JoeNakamoto) January 23, 2023
Debunking the myth
To start with, Vibranium does not exist anywhere in the world, it was a mere fictional metal used in Marvel's movies such as Daredevil 13 and the first Black Panther and captain America.
Black Panther's suit was made from Vibranium which absorb, store, and release large amounts of kinetic energy, it also gives its wearer some kind of superhuman abilities.
Image source: https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/193279
In the viral video which was tagged "electrically charged stones discovered in Congo," a man is seen showing sparks coming out of a small, graphite-colored stone. Another clip shows sparks appearing to fly between two large rocks.
— Africa Archives ™ (@Africa_Archives) January 21, 2023
Although the exact nature of the stones in the video is unclear, but Congo is known for to be rich in precious metals such as cobalt, coltan, gold and copper. In addition, certain metals and rocks have chemical and physical properties that make them suitable for conductivity testing.
The electric stone is believed to be made up of quartz and magnetite which explains why the stone exhibit electrical properties.
The discovery serves as a future hope for renewable energy source and it is expected to be put into use as research continues.