Sir Harry Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of buckyballs, told the BBC: "All the carbon in your body came from star dust, so at one time some that carbon may have been in the form of buckyballs."
Originally posted by zeeblebot in that case i'd expect my body to still contain some buckyballs.
Why? All the carbon in your body should be in the form of organic compounds. It gets there through chemical reactions mostly originating in plants converting carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds.
Originally posted by twhitehead Why? All the carbon in your body should be in the form of organic compounds. It gets there through chemical reactions mostly originating in plants converting carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds.
That doesn't rule out the possibility of bucky's coming into the body through the atmosphere and just breathing them in and getting lodged in the lung like asbestos particles.
Originally posted by zeeblebot http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7905706/Spaceballs-found-in-distant-galaxy.html
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Sir Harry Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of buckyballs, told the BBC: "All the carbon in your body came from star dust, so at one time some that carbon may have been in the form of buckyballs."
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Gosh, a distant galaxy? This I have to read!
What galaxy? Which one?
[read read read]
Let's see, here it is:
"The signature came from a star in the southern hemisphere constellation of Ara, 6,500 light-years away."
Gosh, a distant galaxy only 6,500 light years away? Oh, mighty! šµ
Originally posted by sonhouse That doesn't rule out the possibility of bucky's coming into the body through the atmosphere and just breathing them in and getting lodged in the lung like asbestos particles.
I am sure thats possible, though the article implies that they are not very common in nature (on earth).
Originally posted by FabianFnas Gosh, a distant galaxy only 6,500 light years away? Oh, mighty! šµ
I find it improbable that the claim that they are the 'The largest molecules ever found in space' is valid either. I don't know if other planets count as 'in space', but certain hydrocarbons are fairly common on other planets and meteorites.
Originally posted by twhitehead I find it improbable that the claim that they are the 'The largest molecules ever found in space' is valid either. I don't know if other planets count as 'in space', but certain hydrocarbons are fairly common on other planets and meteorites.
Since the Earth itself is a planet, and as we know, planets cannot exist anywere else than in space, we have to account every molecule on earth as something 'found in space'.
I don't know what largest molecule known is, but a buckyball is quite small in comparison.
Originally posted by FabianFnas Since the Earth itself is a planet, and as we know, planets cannot exist anywere else than in space, we have to account every molecule on earth as something 'found in space'.
I don't know what largest molecule known is, but a buckyball is quite small in comparison.
Just think about it: the infinite molecule! What would be the shape?
Originally posted by twhitehead Why? All the carbon in your body should be in the form of organic compounds. It gets there through chemical reactions mostly originating in plants converting carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds.
buckyballs being such tough molecules i wouldn't expect them to be degraded over the millenia into their component atoms, if they're being detected as wisps in interstellar space the ones in my body probably didn't get blasted to atoms along the way.
Originally posted by zeeblebot buckyballs being such tough molecules i wouldn't expect them to be degraded over the millenia into their component atoms, if they're being detected as wisps in interstellar space the ones in my body probably didn't get blasted to atoms along the way.
But how did they get in your body in the first place? They are apparently not common in our environment. If we can detect them in a 'distant galaxy', surely we can detect them in the air, or environment on earth? Yet the article claims the only known ones on earth were made in the lab.
Spaceballs found in distant galaxy
23 Jul '10 02:46
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