Skip to main content

Buckminster

Discovery of Fullerenes
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: Frontiers of KnowledgeEra: 1980-1989DateCreated: 1985Rice UniversityHoustonState: TXZip: 77005Country: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/fullerenes.htmlCreator: Curl, Robert , Kroto, Harold

In early September 1985, a team of scientists discovered a previously unknown pure carbon molecule, C60, which they dubbed buckminsterfullerene. The name was chosen because the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller provided a clue that the molecule’s atoms might be arranged in the form of a hollow cage. The structure, a truncated icosahedron with 32 faces, 12 pentagonal and 20 hexagonal, has the shape of a soccer ball.

YearAdded:
2010
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Itamblyn (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Buckminsterfullerene C60 is an example of a structure in the fullerene family.Era_date_from: 1985
Subscribe to Buckminster

Innovations

Discovery of Fullerenes

In early September 1985, a team of scientists discovered a previously unknown pure carbon molecule, C60, which they dubbed buckminsterfullerene. The name was chosen because the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller provided a clue that the molecule’s atoms might be arranged in the form of a…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.