Buckyballs... throwing astronomers a curve
When I first heard about buckyballs a couple of decades ago, I had nothing but the deepest respect for anyone who understood abstract ideas like string theory and branes. After all, how often were you likely to discuss Buckminster fullerenes with a contemporary while standing in the laundry detergent aisle of your local grocery store? The very concept of magnetic carbon was new and exciting! It was known to exist in small quantities in nature produced by lightning and fire but the real kicker was born solely in a laboratory. Buckyballs have been found on Earth and in meteorites, and now in space, and can act as cages to capture other atoms and molecules. Some theories suggest that the buckyballs may have carried to the Earth substances that make life possible.