News Article
Buckyball sculpture to inspire students
A new sculpture providing a window into the intriguing world of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology will be unveiled next week at the University of Sheffield. Nobel Prize Winner Professor Sir Harold Kroto unveiled the world's first ‘Giant Buckyball' sculpture outside the Kroto Research Institute at the University recently.
A new sculpture providing a window into the intriguing world of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology will be unveiled next week at the University of Sheffield. Nobel Prize Winner Professor Sir Harold Kroto unveiled the world's first ‘Giant Buckyball' sculpture outside the Kroto Research Institute at the University recently.
Scaled up so that one metre of the sculpture represents one nanometre in the molecular world, the sculpture, which is one thousand million times larger than the molecule itself, is a physical representation of a pure carbon cage Fullerene (often referred to as Buckyballs). The fascinating geometry of these pure carbon molecules has inspired numerous sculptures around the world, but this will be the first ever ‘giant' Buckyball.
The chemistry and physics of Fullerene molecules, as well as their shapes and sizes, are all areas of intense research interest. The sculpture, with its superstructure composed from rods of advanced fibre composite has been allowed to adopt a shape spontaneously that reflects accurately the natural structural form that the molecule adopts. Each of the 240 carbon atoms is represented by a stainless steel ball, all of which are connected by a geometric network of black rods, representing the electrons of the chemical bonds that link the carbon atoms together.
Harry Kroto, an alumnus of the University of Sheffield who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of this new form of carbon, explains: "As well as being visually attractive the sculpture illustrates some key scientific features of Fullerenes - which children love to call Buckyballs. These unique structures have the potential to radically improve the tensile strength and electronic properties of materials, promising new strategies for sustainable energy-saving technologies ranging from transportation to solar electricity production.
"I am delighted to be unveiling this molecule in 2006, the year of the World Cup. Millions of young people will be watching footballs being kicked about and we need to point out to them that long before mankind had hit upon the combination of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons used in constructing the traditional football, Nature had developed exactly this geometry in the Buckyball.
"Today, the sculpture stands outside the Kroto Research Institute as a fitting emblem, highlighting the importance of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology research being undertaken in the Institute and the exciting promise of these cutting-edge research areas for combating the major socio-economic and humanitarian issues, such as environmental remediation, remedial medicine and advanced materials that now confront us."
Professor Geof Tomlinson, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research at the University and Director of the Kroto Research Institute, spoke about the importance of the research: "It is a great honour for us to have Sir Harry unveiling this statue at such an exciting time in the development of the University's Kroto Research Institute and North Campus.
"We are already seeing how the collaboration of the twenty or so different disciplines from across the Sciences, Engineering and Medical faculties is accelerating research and opening up new and exciting areas. A common interest throughout our research at the Kroto Research Institute is the development of fundamental new understanding of behaviour at nanoscale dimensions and how it can be tailored to improve macroscopic performance - the elegant ‘Giant Buckyball' sculpture is an iconic symbol of this farsighted philosophy."
Scaled up so that one metre of the sculpture represents one nanometre in the molecular world, the sculpture, which is one thousand million times larger than the molecule itself, is a physical representation of a pure carbon cage Fullerene (often referred to as Buckyballs). The fascinating geometry of these pure carbon molecules has inspired numerous sculptures around the world, but this will be the first ever ‘giant' Buckyball.
The chemistry and physics of Fullerene molecules, as well as their shapes and sizes, are all areas of intense research interest. The sculpture, with its superstructure composed from rods of advanced fibre composite has been allowed to adopt a shape spontaneously that reflects accurately the natural structural form that the molecule adopts. Each of the 240 carbon atoms is represented by a stainless steel ball, all of which are connected by a geometric network of black rods, representing the electrons of the chemical bonds that link the carbon atoms together.
Harry Kroto, an alumnus of the University of Sheffield who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of this new form of carbon, explains: "As well as being visually attractive the sculpture illustrates some key scientific features of Fullerenes - which children love to call Buckyballs. These unique structures have the potential to radically improve the tensile strength and electronic properties of materials, promising new strategies for sustainable energy-saving technologies ranging from transportation to solar electricity production.
"I am delighted to be unveiling this molecule in 2006, the year of the World Cup. Millions of young people will be watching footballs being kicked about and we need to point out to them that long before mankind had hit upon the combination of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons used in constructing the traditional football, Nature had developed exactly this geometry in the Buckyball.
"Today, the sculpture stands outside the Kroto Research Institute as a fitting emblem, highlighting the importance of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology research being undertaken in the Institute and the exciting promise of these cutting-edge research areas for combating the major socio-economic and humanitarian issues, such as environmental remediation, remedial medicine and advanced materials that now confront us."
Professor Geof Tomlinson, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research at the University and Director of the Kroto Research Institute, spoke about the importance of the research: "It is a great honour for us to have Sir Harry unveiling this statue at such an exciting time in the development of the University's Kroto Research Institute and North Campus.
"We are already seeing how the collaboration of the twenty or so different disciplines from across the Sciences, Engineering and Medical faculties is accelerating research and opening up new and exciting areas. A common interest throughout our research at the Kroto Research Institute is the development of fundamental new understanding of behaviour at nanoscale dimensions and how it can be tailored to improve macroscopic performance - the elegant ‘Giant Buckyball' sculpture is an iconic symbol of this farsighted philosophy."
