Fig.2 Time-to-flight mass spectra of carbon clusters prepared by laser vaporization of graphite and cooled in a supersonic beam. Ionization was effected by direct one-photon excitation with an ArF excimer laser (6.4 eV, 1mJ cm^-2). The three spectra showed differ in the extent of helium collisions occuring in the supersonic nozzle. In c, the effective helium density over the graphite target was less than 10 torr. The observed cluster distribution here was believed to be due simply to pieces of the graphite sheet ejected in the primary vaporization process. The spectrum in b was obtained when roughly 760 torr helium was present over the graphite target at the time of laser vaporization.The enhancement of C₆₀ and C₇₀ was believed to be due to gase-phase reactions at these higher clustering conditions. The spectrum in a was obtained by maximizing these cluster thermalization and cluster-cluster reactions in the 'integration cup'. The concentration of cluster species in the especially stable C₆₀ form was the prime experimental observation of their study.

If a large-scale synthetic route to this C₆₀ species could be found, the chemical and practical value of the substance would prove extremely high. One can readily conceive of C₆₀ derivatives of many kinds such as C₆₀ transition metal compounds, for example, C₆₀Fe or halogenated species like C₆₀F₆₀ which might be a super-lubricant. They, however, found evidence that an atom (such as lanthanum⁸and oxygen¹ ) can be placed in the interior, producing molecules which may exhibit unusual properties. For example, the chemical shift in the NMR of the central atom should be remarkable because of the ring currents. If stable in macroscopic, condensed phases, this C₆₀ species would provide a topologically novel aromatic nucleus for new branches of organic and inorganic chemistry. Finally, this especially stable and symmetrical carbon structure provides a possible catalyst and/or intermediate to be considered in modelling prebiotic chemistry.

The winners were distrurbed at the number of letters and syllables in the rather fanciful but highly appropriate name, they chose in the tiltle to refer to this C₆₀ species. For such a unique and centrally important molecular structure, a more concise name would be useful. A number of alternatives come to theie minds (for eample, ballene, spherene, soccerrene, carbosoccer), but they prefered to let the issue of nomenclacture be settled by consensus.

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