Kroto and charisma

摘要

A vision of a dome led to the naming of buckminsterfullerene. This carbon cluster has become an icon for chemistry, thanks to the media-friendly appeal it shares with co-discoverer Sir Harry Kroto. Sometimes it is difficult to know why particular scientific discoveries hit the public headlines. The hugely technical solution to Fermat's last theorem hardly seemed to possess the ingredients for a hit. It could not even resort to the kind of visual appeal that normally helps to bring a discovery before the public eye. By contrast, the popular impact of the 'buckyball', C_(60), unabashedly relied upon visual charisma.