ALL MOLECULAR GRAPHICS: CARBON: Fullerenes: Buckminsterfullerene or Buckyball, C60 image 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Buckminsterfullerene or Buckyball molecule

Buckminsterfullerene or Buckyball #2, C60. The carbon atoms are shown as black spheres at their covalent radius (i.e. just touching). They are surrounded by translucent spheres that represent their van der Waals radii. This image is 500 x 500 pixels; the original measures 4,096 x 4,096 pixels.

Buckminsterfullerene is a form (allotrope) of carbon. In this molecule, there are sixty carbon atoms arranged in a sphere (actually at the vertices of a truncated icosahedron). Fullerenes have rather exotic properties and these hollow balls of carbon atoms are likely to have many uses.


All animations / Buckminsterfullerene animation.






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