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Bond-and-Stick Model – C-60 Buckminsterfullerene Molecule
Caption:
Ray-traced picture of a bond-and-stick model of a C-60 Buckminsterfullerene molecule. C-60 Buckminsterfullerene is a naturally occurring form of carbon, with 60 carbon atoms per molecule arranged in the structure of a soccer ball. It is named after the architect R. Buckminster Fuller, who designed "geodesic spheres" that happen to have the exact structure of C-60 molecules.
The model shown in this picture is not based on the actual chemical structure of C-60, but on atom positions generated in the spirit of R. Buckminster Fuller by subdividing a regular dodecahedron. The model was generated by placing spheres at atom positions and cylinders along atom-atom bonds; the image was generated by ray-tracing the model with a reflective surface floating on top of a checkerboard. The ray-tracing algorithm used point light sources and adaptive anti-aliasing.
(Preview Only)
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Credit: |
Image generated by Oliver Kreylos, Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing (CIPIC), Univ. of California, Davis. This image does not show an actual C-60 Buckminsterfullerene molecule. |
Year of Image: |
2000 |
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Categories:
MATERIALS RESEARCH / General
Formats Available:
Restrictions:
No additional restrictions--beyond NSF's general restrictions--have been placed on this image. For a list of general restrictions that apply to this and all images in the NSF Image Library, see the section "Conditions".
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