20 September 2011
Postgraduate research workshop: Carbon in nano and outer space
Nobel Laureate Sir Harry Kroto will speak about the discovery of C60, Buckminsterfullerene, the third well-defined form of carbon, along with graphite and diamond.
Sir Harry regards this as another example of the remarkable way in which research into space has catalysed fundamental breakthroughs in science with major implications for innovative technological applications.
Event details
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Title: |
Carbon in nano and outer space |
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Speaker: |
Sir Harry Kroto, Nobel Laureate |
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Date: |
2011-09-28 |
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Time: |
2.30 pm – 4.00 pm |
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Location: |
RMIT Storey Hall Auditorium |
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Register: |
Email events@rmit.edu.au with "Kroto Workshop" in the subject line |
Abstract
With the development of radiotelescopes during the last half of the 20th Century, the very cold interstellar medium was found to be a veritable Pandora's Box, brimming with fascinating and exotic molecules, dust particles as well as some highly puzzling material responsible for some as yet unidentified optical features.
Particularly fascinating has been the role that the element carbon has played in almost every aspect of the physical and natural sciences. The fact that the element is at all abundant is due to a curious set of coincidences involving its nucleosynthesis from helium in stars. If one adds into the carbon equation its uniquely profuse chemistry, i.e. Organic Chemistry which is also the basis of biology, it is hard to conceive that life could be based on any other element.
The most recent surprise that the element had up its sleeve was the existence of C60, Buckminsterfullerene, the third well-defined form of carbon – the other two being graphite and diamond. The discovery of this molecule and its siblings (the whole family now known as the Fullerenes) was made serendipitously during laboratory experiments aimed at explaining the chemical synthesis of some unexpectedly long linear carbon chain molecules which we detected in the interstellar medium. Follow up work from the C60 discovery also led to the re-discovery of the carbon nanotubes which promise paradigm shifting advances in materials engineering.
Especially compelling support for the idea that C60 existed in space lay in the fact that the original discovery was a consequence of laboratory experiments designed to simulate the atmospheric conditions in cool red giant carbon stars. This conjecture was confirmed in 2010 by tell-tale signatures found in infra red spectra obtained by NASA's Spitzer satellite telescope.
This is yet another example of the remarkable way in which the fascination with space has catalysed fundamental breakthroughs in general science with major implications for innovative technological applications on Earth. In these difficult times this account provides evidence which supports the vital role that fundamental cross-disciplinary research has played in the past and will continue to play in the future in providing totally unpredictable advances of major strategic importance.