salglanmas

Salglanmas is a fictional mineral species used in speculative geology and science fiction to illustrate concepts of layered oxide-sulfide materials. In the imagined taxonomy, salglanmas belongs to the broader class of halide- and oxide-rich minerals and is valued in thought experiments for its proposed ionic conductivity and refractive properties.

Proposed composition and structure: The idealized formula is NaGa2Mn4O8S2, with a layered structure in which gallium- and manganese-containing octahedra form sheets separated by sodium ions. The sheets are linked by marginal sulfide and oxide anions, creating a three-dimensional framework with potential anisotropic properties.

Formation and occurrence: In the fiction, salglanmas is said to form under high-temperature, saline hydrothermal conditions or in impact-generated salt lenses, but no mineral specimens have ever been observed in nature. It is commonly described in models and illustrations rather than field data.

Discovery and discussion: The term was coined in the early 2000s in theoretical works by researchers using it as a case study for phase transitions in complex ionic lattices. Because it lacks a verifiable specimen, it remains a hypothetical example rather than an established mineral species. Debates center on the plausibility of stable long-range order in the proposed composition.

Applications and cultural footprint: Salglanmas is used in textbooks and media to discuss crystallography, ionic conduction, and high-pressure mineral physics. It serves as a benchmark for simulating defect chemistry and for illustrating how naming conventions apply to imagined minerals.