What is a buckyball and its relationship to the carbon nanotube?
A buckyball is a molecule comprised of approximately 60 atoms of carbon. It is the structure of a soccer ball one nanometer in diameter. When carbon condenses by itself, the result is a buckyball. If it condenses when there is a small vapor of nickel or cobalt, for example, you trick the carbon into making tubes, with a strength between 30 and 100 times stronger than steel. Q: If you had a crystal buckyball, what might be some nano-projections? A: I believe the biggest breakthroughs on the nanometer scale will be in the critical areas of energy, human health and information technology. The Nano Guru Mihail C. Roco, Ph.D., is the architect behind the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), the federal government’s long-term investment in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology initiated in 2001. Mr. Roco is senior advisor for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation and chairman of the U.S. National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, En
