Vibranium

Vibranium is a rare earth metal discovered in Wakanda in 1870, and then discovered in Argentina in 1933. Its discovery in Wakanda was not made public, and the world at large believes that the 1933 discovery was the first recorded finding of the element. Most of the properties of Vibranium are still unknown or little understood.
Vibranium bounces when dropped and it is phosphorescent, briefly glowing a particular shade of purple when exposed to ultraviolet light. The most popular way of detecting vibranium within samples is to expose them to ultraviolet light in search of this phosphorescence, which is known as the HITH-V (Hith five) test.
Vibranium is also extremely conductive and is able to store energy that is applied to it, most notably kinetic. Its chemical structure makes it very volatile and it has not been successfully alloyed with any other metal because of this. When electrified and observed under a microscope, samples of vibranium appear to separate into particles, which ‘vibrate’. The samples solidify again within moments after the charge is removed. Vibranium is not magnetic.
Vibranium has been found off Earth and is likely to have originated within asteroids.

Properties

Physical & Chemical Properties

Vibranium stores and can reproduce energy applied to it, including electricity, kinetic and elastic. It is highly volatile when unprocessed and can violently explode if mishandled. When small fragments of ore are set alight, purple sparks are released, which quickly self extinguish and leave small shards of dark grey metal.

Geology & Geography

Vibranium ore is very scarcely found. The largest deposit is a literal mountain of it in Wakanda, but its volatile nature means that large scale mining or excavation of it is extremely risky (not to mention that the site is sacred). An older and safer source of Vibranium in Wakanda is to pan it from bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, from where it has leached out of clay.
The second largest deposit on Earth is in Argentina. This deposit was mostly been mined dry between its discovery in 1933 and 1957 and only tiny fragments of ore remain.
Tiny deposits of Vibranium have been found elsewhere, but have usually been cleared out within moments of discovery.

Origin & Source

Vibranium is sourced from ore that is dark in colour and glistens faintly purple when moved in low lights. This ore comes from asteroid impacts millions of years ago.

History & Usage

Discovery

Vibranium was first identified in Wakanda in 1870, though the country's inhabitants had been using the metal for much longer. Folklore states that a metalworker had the misfortune of attempting to break a large chunk of vibranium ore with a steel hammer, and the resulting shock wave demolished much of the lean-to they had been working in. However, the metalworker was protected from the impact by tiny particles of the metal that had embedded into the leather tabard they wore. When the material was examined after this incident, it was recognised as the same metal panned from lakes and rivers for generations. Research then commenced into how to safely process and handle vibranium ore.

Cultural Significance and Usage

Vibranium forms most of Wakanda's technology, and practically everything uses it in some form. Outside of Wakanda, the most well-known use of vibranium is as the primary component of Captain America's Shield

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Type

Elemental / Molecular

Color

Dark grey in normal light, bright purple under UV

Common State

Solid