The 11-day mystery of the soccer ball carbon molecule
In 1985, three scientists at Rice University discovered C60, a previously unknown pure form of carbon shaped like a soccer ball, after 11 days of testing a stubborn spike in their data.
A single peak appeared at exactly 60 carbon atoms. In September 1985, at Rice University, Harold Croteau worked beside Robert Curl and Richard Smalley. They laser-vaporized graphite and watched one peak dominate the readings.
The stubborn spike
For 11 days, the three tested the stubborn spike. It was C60, buckminsterfullerene, a previously unknown pure form of carbon shaped like a soccer ball.
A new form of carbon
The discovery revealed that carbon could exist in a spherical structure with 60 atoms arranged in a pattern resembling a soccer ball. This form of carbon was entirely unknown before the Rice University team identified it through their laser vaporization experiments on graphite.
