A Fullerene is an allotrope of carbon, as are diamonds and graphite.
Name after the 20th century visionary R. Buckminster Fuller that discovered them, this molecule contains precisely 60 carbon atoms which bond to form hollow spheres, resembling the geodesic domes that he popularized.
Fullerenes, or "Buckyballs" have many properties that are still being researched and developed. They are similar to graphene, but spherical, not a sheet-layer.
Check out R.B. Fuller. He was quite a guy: President of MENSA, early proponent of renewable energy, conserving, and recycling. He coined the term Synergistics (the study of transformations). He was an architect, engineer, spiritualist, Unitarian, and an advocate for the Earth.
From Wikipedia: Fuller wrote that the natural analytic geometry of the universe was based on arrays of tetrahedra. He developed this in several ways, from the close-packing of spheres and the number of compressive or tensile members required to stabilize an object in space. One confirming result was that the strongest possible homogeneous truss is cyclically tetrahedral.
Hmmm...tetrapods. I think I have heard of them somewhere...
Happy Decoration Day to all.
S A John
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