Mysteries behind interstellar buckyballs finally answered

Scientists have long been puzzled by the existence of so-called "buckyballs"—complex carbon molecules with a soccer-ball-like structure—throughout interstellar space. Now, a team of researchers from the University of ...

Creating 'movies' of thin film growth

From paint on a wall to tinted car windows, thin films make up a wide variety of materials found in ordinary life. But thin films are also used to build some of today's most important technologies, such as computer chips ...

Terahertz spectroscopy enters the single-molecule regime

The interaction of light with matter is the basis of spectroscopy, a set of techniques lying at the heart of physics and chemistry. From infrared light to X-rays, a broad sweep of wavelengths is used to stimulate vibrations, ...

Visualization of molecular soccer balls

Fullerenes are composed of 60 carbon atoms joined together in hexagonal rings to form a sphere that resembles a soccer ball. Fullerenes are of great interest to materials scientists because their interesting electronic properties ...

Immune cells don't always ward off carbon nano invaders

Scientists at the University of Michigan have found evidence that some carbon nanomaterials can enter into immune cell membranes, seemingly going undetected by the cell's built-in mechanisms for engulfing and disposing of ...

page 1 from 2