WHAT'S IN THE FUTURE?

Continued research into fullerenes has led to the development of tubes made only of elemental carbon, called nano-tubes.  This has led to an area of research called 'nanotechnology', and the aim is to be able to build nanomachines - very small machines with molecular components!  This technology goes beyond bucky balls, but they still play their part.  Two compounds that are of major interest are helical graphite and deformed graphite tube.  Both are shown below,

Helical Graphite

Deformed Graphite Tube

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