Buckyballs in space, conceptual image. Computer illustration of buckminsterfullerene molecules (buckyballs) in space. Buckminsterfullerene is a struct
Buckyballs in space, conceptual image. Computer illustration of buckminsterfullerene molecules (buckyballs) in space. Buckminsterfullerene is a structurally distinct form (allotrope) of carbon that has 60 carbon atoms arranged in a spherical structure consisting of interlinking hexagonal and pentagonal rings, like a football. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected the solid form of these buckyballs in space for the first time. To form a solid particle they must stack together as shown here. The discovery implies that the little carbon spheres are prevalent in certain stellar regions of the cosmos.
Size: 4331px × 2435px
Photo credit: © NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 60, allotrope, artwork, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, buckminsterfullerene, buckyball, buckyballs, carbon, chemical, chemistry, clump, clumped, clumps, illustration, molecular, molecule, molecules, physical, physics, solid, space, sphere, spheres, spherical, stack, stacked, stacks, star, sun
