sputava

Sputava is a fictional mineral described in science fiction and speculative fantasy as a semi-transparent crystal with strong photoluminescence. In many depictions it forms in high-temperature hydrothermal veins within ultramafic rocks and appears as slender prisms or tabular crystals.

The name is said to derive from the imagined Veridian language, roughly translating to "spark in the dark" and chosen by authors to evoke its glow and rarity.

Reported properties include a blue to greenish color, a vitreous luster, and a hardness around 6 on the Mohs scale. Its density is placed near 3.3–3.8 g/cm3, with refractive indices around 1.68–1.72. The mineral is described as weakly pleochroic and, under ultraviolet light, capable of emitting a bright blue or green glow.

In fiction, sputava is said to occur in volcanic and metamorphic terrains with small, curated localities named in several works. Formation is imagined to involve hot, mineral-rich fluids and rapid crystallization.

Because sputava is fictional, its uses are narrative devices: it may serve as a gemstone substitute, a light source, or a component in imagined photonic devices. No real-world mining or commercial use exists outside fiction.