Spitzer spots first solid buckyballs in stellar disc The first solid “buckyball” Carbon-60 molecules have been spotted forming a ring around a star 6,500 light-years away, according to data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. A new paper reports a pair of stars called "XX Ophiuchi," with what looks like a disc of the molecules - dubbed Buckminsterfullerene after the architect …
Recall the 2005 scrapping in the Grauniad between Katie Melua and Simon Singh over a mere 15% error in the former's lyrical assertion of the distance to the edge of the universe (cf IPCC). IMO Melua should have simply countered with "What? Oh Be a Fine Guy Kiss My Rear Now Simon".
back in the 80s, and the word "fullerene" quickly came into general use then, in all the papers of the time. But somewhere in the late 90s the full name, buckminsterfullerene, came back. I'd assumed there had probably been some kind of intellectual property lawsuit from Buckminster Fuller's estate or something over the use of the word "fullerene" , since I can't think of anything else that would push people from using a shorter term to a longer polysyllabic one.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
