all strength of the material. High-speed collisions don't faze it, and it virtually never fragments. The original method of preparation of buckminsterfullerene was to produce it in a molecular beam, and only very small quantities could be made. However, it was soon found that the molecules were produced in large numbers in an electric arc between two carbon electrodes in a helium atmosphere. Scientists now believe that buckminsterfullerene is likely to be formed in sooty flames, and there is a possibility that it is abundant in the universe, particularly near red-giant stars. The versatility of fullerene molecules has led to a great deal of research exploring their properties. One potentially useful property is that atoms of different elements can be placed inside the molecular cage formed by the carbon atoms, producing a "shrink wrapped" version of these elements. When metal atoms are introduced into fullerene tubes, the resulting material is like a one-dimensional insulated wire. Another important property is that certain compounds of buckminsterfullerene (notably K3C60) are superconducting at low temperatures. Compounds made by adding thallium and rubidium ions (electrically charged atoms) to fullerenes become superconducting at -228 C (-378 F). This temperature is relatively high compared to the cooling required by other superconducting materials. With traits like these, buckminsterfullerene will be a key player in nanotechnology. Advances in manipulating buckminsterfullerene have already occurred. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have made progress with a tool for holding buckminsterfullerene. Other chemists have made a buckminsterfullerene molecule with a hole in it, which is an advance toward more controlled entrapment of other molecules within the buckminsterfullerene cage. Derivatives of buckminsterfullerene have been found to be biologically active and have been used to attack cancer. It is believed ...
