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by **fivecups** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:06 am

Google has a buckyball in it's image today to mark the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the buckminster fullerene. The nanotechnology story is an interesting one, I don't know if anyone has any opinions strong opinions?

You can also play with the Google buckyball and make it spin which might be more fun!

by **fivecups** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:17 am

The buckyball was first discovered 25 years ago by a group of scientists at Rice University, in Texas, and named after the architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, noted for popularising the geodesic dome.

To mark the discovery of this specially shaped molecule composed entirely of carbon on 4 September 1985, Google has changed the second O in its logo to a manipulatable version of a buckyball for the day.

Buckyball is the colloquial name used to describe a spherical fullerene – an abbreviation of buckminsterfullerene, its full name.

There are a variety of different buckyballs depending on the structure – the most recognisable, and first discovered, is the Buckminsterfullerene C60. It shares the geodesic structure of a panelled football and is the smallest fullerene molecule in which no two pentagons share an edge – giving it structural strength.

The C60 is found in soot, though rarely occurs in nature. Other allotropes of carbon include diamond and graphite but the discovery of fullerenes greatly expanded this.

The unusual spherical arrangement of the molecule led to the nickname buckyball. Scientists have since discovered buckytubes, nanotubes, megatubes and nano onions.

The unique chemistry of the family of particles has been widely researched for use in electronics, nanotechnology and many other fields of science.

Google has previously used its logo to mark other anniversaries and events. Earlier this year it marked 30 years of Pac-Man by converting its name into a playable version of the game.

by **burjennio** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 12:48 pm

TAKE IT OUTSIDE POINDEXTER!

by **andy_g** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 12:58 pm

i'm hugely interested in all sorts of science and technology, and even work with scientists on a fairly regular basis. one of my main scientific colleagues happens to be from the nanotechnology area as well. i'm buggered if i'm going to discuss it in this philistine infested hole though.

by **laza** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:05 pm

andy_g wrote:i'm hugely interested in all sorts of science and technology, and even work with scientists on a fairly regular basis. one of my main scientific colleagues happens to be from the nanotechnology area as well. i'm buggered if i'm going to discuss it in this philistine infested hole though.

Quick write something clever Laz so it looks you understand what Andy just wrote

Yes Nanotechnolgy thats from planet ork and was brought here by Mork

by **andy_g** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:15 pm

laza wrote:Yes Nanotechnolgy thats from planet ork and was brought here by Mork

wow! cool, mate. i didn't know that.

by **Bad Bob** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 2:01 pm

burjennio wrote:TAKE IT OUTSIDE POINDEXTER!

by **fivecups** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 2:41 pm

Bad Bob wrote:
burjennio wrote:TAKE IT OUTSIDE POINDEXTER!

Did you not even spin the Google buckyball?

by **Bad Bob** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:23 pm

fivecups wrote:
Bad Bob wrote:
burjennio wrote:TAKE IT OUTSIDE POINDEXTER!

Did you not even spin the Google buckyball?

Oh man did I! :buttrock

by **burjennio** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:15 pm

fivecups wrote:
Bad Bob wrote:
burjennio wrote:TAKE IT OUTSIDE POINDEXTER!

Did you not even spin the Google buckyball?

yeah i did actually lol, I was on really early this morning and and saw it on my google homepage and all I could think was "omg they've discovered the higgs boson" then I clicked on the little image and was rather disappointed. Given that my knowledge on particle physics is based solely on watching sporadic episodes of BBC Horizon I find it hard to get interested by news that doesnt wheel out Prof Brian Cox and have a dramatic orchestral score so dont judge me too much on my ignorance

by **fivecups** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:59 pm

andy_g wrote:i'm hugely interested in all sorts of science and technology, and even work with scientists on a fairly regular basis. one of my main scientific colleagues happens to be from the nanotechnology area as well. i'm buggered if i'm going to discuss it in this philistine infested hole though.

You're an artist Andy - is that right? In what way do you work with scientists for your work?

My understanding is North Americans in general have some awareness of the potential benefits and risks of nanotechnology whereas as Brits remain fairly ill-informed - Bob or some of the US posters may clarify that.

by **Bad Bob** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:10 pm

fivecups wrote:
andy_g wrote:i'm hugely interested in all sorts of science and technology, and even work with scientists on a fairly regular basis. one of my main scientific colleagues happens to be from the nanotechnology area as well. i'm buggered if i'm going to discuss it in this philistine infested hole though.

You're an artist Andy - is that right? In what way do you work with scientists for your work?

My understanding is North Americans in general have some awareness of the potential benefits and risks of nanotechnology whereas as Brits remain fairly ill-informed - Bob or some of the US posters may clarify that.

This particular North American knows nothing about nanotechnology except for the scaremongering that Michael Crichton did in that novel on the subject. :upside:

by **burjennio** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:18 pm

Theres a book called "Everything is going to kill Everybody" by Robert Brockway and it doesnt paint to good a picture either, though it does it from a comedy perspective

by **andy_g** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:45 pm

fivecups wrote:
andy_g wrote:i'm hugely interested in all sorts of science and technology, and even work with scientists on a fairly regular basis. one of my main scientific colleagues happens to be from the nanotechnology area as well. i'm buggered if i'm going to discuss it in this philistine infested hole though.

You're an artist Andy - is that right? In what way do you work with scientists for your work?

i'm an artist yeah, how did that one get out?? for the last 20 years or so there's been an increasing number of artists drawn to science as a medium rather than just a subject matter - some artists are exploring chemistry, others physics, others the biosciences and others a mixture of these and others. the best work in this field maintains a critical edge as well as an aesthetic one. many contemporary artists realise that just making work that looks nice isn't enough and that there are many contentious issues which benefit from some sort of cultural engagement.

obvioulsy, artists cannot possibly understand the full complexity of scientific issues and methodologies so its often necessary to seek some sort of scientific connection to give the work a meaningful and valid basis. some choose to discuss and others find ways to actually spend time in the laboratory learning elements of the practice. the discourse generated by artists and scientists working together can become very interesting - although it seems there are many parallels between art and science the differences actually run very deep.

by **Emerald Red** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:05 am

As an artist, speaking about the parallels drawn between art and science - no pun intended - I find it ironic that a lot of artists these days are so willing to go beyond convention and tradition and forsake the artistry in art, or the science of art.

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