Perfect Symmetry

In 1966, it was an amusing idea. In September 1985, it was a ball of paper and sticky tape, the result of six days of intense scientific discussion and one moment of inspiration. Five years later it was finally real: a perfectly symmetrical soccer-ball shaped molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms called buckminsterfullerene. This new molecule - one of a large family of carbon cage molecules called "fullerenes" - represents a new form of carbon in addition to diamond and graphite. Its accidental discovery has revolutionised our understanding of this most familiar of all elements. It has heralded a new chemistry, a new range of high-temperature superconductors and some marvellous new concepts in the architecture of large carbon structures. Carbon will never be the same again. In "Perfect Symmetry" , prize-winning science writer Jim Baggott tells the story of the accidental discovery of buckminsterfullerene, from its origins in the cold chemistry of interstellar clouds to the development of the fast-growing field of fullerence science. It is a story full of surprises.