Kemoreceptorite

Kemoreceptorite is a fictional mineral described in speculative mineralogy and some science fiction narratives. It is named for an imagined link between mineral surfaces and chemoreceptor–like signaling at the nanoscale, drawing a parallel to biological chemoreceptors. The term serves as a conceptual tool to explore how surface chemistry and structure might influence chemical sensing in a mineralogical context.

In the fictional model, kemoreceptorite is portrayed as a potassium–iron phosphate, with a provisional formula such as KFe2(PO4)3. It is described as crystallizing in a monoclinic system with chain-like phosphate groups that can host minor substitutions by transition metals. The idea envisions formation in high-temperature hydrothermal veins where potassium-rich fluids interact with iron-bearing silicates, producing discrete, blocky crystals. The conceptual framework often emphasizes surface sites that could participate in selective adsorption of ionic species, analogous to receptor binding in biological systems.

The imagined physical properties include a vitreous to silky luster, a color range from olive-green to brown, and a hardness around 5 on the Mohs scale. Cleavage is described as imperfect, with fractures that reflect its hypothetical chain-like phosphate structure. In fictional optical terms, refractive indices and birefringence are presented as illustrative values to convey anisotropy, not as established measurements.

Occurrence and significance are treated as hypothetical: kemoreceptorite is said to appear in invented hydrothermal deposits within ultramafic host rocks, with associated minerals such as magnetite, chlorite, and olivine. As a teaching or narrative device, it is used to discuss how mineral surfaces could, in theory, influence chemical interactions, rather than to document a real mineral discovery.

See also: chemoreceptors, phosphate minerals, mineralogy, fictitious minerals.