For the most part, science is about many people working on small parts of many problems, trying to unravel answers one piece at a time. Occasionally, research can unfold quickly, with impacts that spread far beyond its academic value. Professor Sir Harry Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, has been involved in just that sort of work. He came to campus last week to give two lectures about his work with C60 Buckminsterfullerene, a spherical molecule that consists of sixty carbon atoms.
Recent work at Rice University has used buckyballs, as the C60 molecules are often called, as wheels for nanometer-scale cars and trucks. The tiny vehicles roll on the molecules, taking advantage of their round nature.
The Nobel Prize winner gave an afternoon lecture in the Science Center and a morning lecture to the introductory chemistry classes. His morning lecture focused on teenagers making an impact in the sciences.
“[He spoke about] science being really important,” said Orianna Korol ’09.
During his lecture, Kroto referred to a clip of Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss) speaking to teenagers about how science classes would not help if students were planning on going on to other fields. Using Lott as an example of absurdity, Kroto stressed the importance of keeping the interest in science alive through younger generations.
Kroto also discussed his 1985 discovery of C60 with his colleagues, Robert F. Curl and Richard E. Smalley. According to the Nobel Prize website, Kroto was initially researching whether long chains of carbon molecules could be found in space. To test his theories, he needed a special instrument.
Kroto got in contact with Smalley, who had built a “laser-supersonic cluster beam apparatus,” which can vaporize materials into plasma. This allows researchers to study the distribution of atom clusters within the material. When Kroto, Smalley, and Curl began testing Kroto’s theory, they discovered that the carbon molecules were not made up of long chains at all, instead forming symmetrical, spherical shapes.
“Harry remembered he had this model of a constellation built for his kids made of hexagons and pentagons,” said Professor of Chemistry Stuart Novick, who had invited Kroto to speak.
The arrangement of pentagons and hexagons of carbon atoms in C60 is referred to as a truncated icosahedron. According to Novick, this shape consists of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons, which contribute to the symmetrical curving of C60. The geodesic dome designed by R. Buckminster Fuller for the 1967 Montreal World Exhibition is constructed along the same basic pattern. Kroto, Smalley, and Curl named the C60 molecule “buckminsterfullerene,” after this American architect.
The discovery of C60 evoked some criticism within the scientific community because of its unusual symmetrical shape, until 1990 when physicists Donald Huffman and Wolfgang Kratschmer actually produced small quantities of C60 in a laboratory. The discovery of C60 had a tremendous impact, adding a new form of carbon to the six forms previously known, which include graphite and diamond. Buckminsterfullerene has opened up new possibilities and scientists continue to work to produce useful applications for the fullerenes.
Novick met Kroto during the 1992 Leemakers Symposium held annually at the University in the spring. Kroto and one of his colleagues, Smalley, gave a lecture at the symposium about C60. Novick said that through mutual interest in microwave spectroscopy, he and Kroto kept in touch throughout the years. Kroto recently moved to Florida State University from the University of Sussex in England.
“When I heard he was coming [to the States], I asked him to come to Wesleyan,” Novick said.
Kroto’s autobiography in the Nobel Prize website shows his love for teaching and his strong opinions on children exploring their own interests. According to the Smithsonian Institute website, Kroto’s love for science has given him great satisfaction to connect “with school children, teachers, lay people, and retired research workers who have often exhibited a fascination for science as a cultural activity and a deep understanding of the way nature works.”
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