Encyclopedia

Buckyball

Also found in: Dictionary, Medical, Financial.

buckyball

[′bək·ē‚bȯl]
(chemistry)
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Buckyball

A molecule of carbon expected to improve the materials used in a variety of applications, including batteries, fuels, plastics and medicine, especially the treatment of cancer. Buckyballs are also used as a building block for experimental materials.

Officially known as "Buckminsterfullerines" because the 60 atoms that make up their spherical molecule resemble Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes, Buckyballs are lighter than plastic and stronger than steel. They also conduct heat and electricity. In 1985, Buckyballs were identified by three scientists who later received a Nobel Prize for the discovery. See nanotube and nanotechnology. See also Bucky Bit.
Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
Mentioned in
References in periodicals archive
Buckyballs are made up of 60 carbon atoms arranged in patterns of hexagons and pentagons matching a traditional football shape.
(75) In March they began selling the magnets online under the "Buckyballs" brand.
In the case of dielectric constant [[epsilon].sub.1] ~ 2.4 for the buckyball, the above-mentioned coefficients lie within the range from -0.4 to -0.9 and decrease with increasing L.
Semeja una "tela metalica" pero por ser miembro de la familia de los fullerenos su origen puede derivar de la expansion de un buckyball (buckytube) de tamano no mayor de 1 nm.
Buckyballs and nanotubes turned out to have some unique properties not found in other forms of carbon.
Growing knowledge about a molecule postulated in 1985, isolated in 1990, and first imaged in 1991 led to a flood of research on buckminsterfullerene (the "buckyball," for short), a soccer-ball-shaped molecule named for the inventor of the geodesic dome, another structure it resembles.
The Buckyball molecule was first discovered at Rice in 1985 and their curvature means they are very effective at binding the amine molecules that capture carbon dioxide.
Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.