An idea that got given to me just this weekend and im still looking into
buckminsterfullerene has conjugated pi-orbitals, on the outside these are dispersed and mostly discrete. I have found nothing although I'm terrible at looking into the conditions found inside the bucky ball.
I theorize if one places an appropriate conductive (metallic) crystal cell unit then the potentially free electrons can pass through the unit cell and have excess energy in them expelled as radiation, then the electron at a fixed lower energy level will pass out and be attracted to the nearest carbon where it gains its potential again.
I really don't understand how this might work but it seems to be a logical flow, just how does the carbon cage handle having to re-energize these electrons?
current Metal Endohedrals show the metal atom off center and randomly spinning, prehaps if one can lodge the metal matrix into the walls of the fullerene one can center the metal atom to some degree and even transfer its percieved random motion
House Painter
I am maybe stupid, but aren't Bucky Balls more a means to transfer movement.as opposed to having any "real" potential?
transfer movement? in terms of macroscopic (well the entire fullerene anyway) I would think it would be difficult to examine a moving fullerene. The movement of the metal atom is detected by NMR which is pretty darn quick so maybe it does not perceive the movement of the fullerene.
Fullerene type compounds are being investigated for structural capacities mostly. But the thing I'm getting at is although the pi-orbitals of the outer surface are well documented, the inner pi orbitals could well resemble something like that found in benzene which has some rather strange effects, and to have an object enclosed by such a dislocated pi-orbital cloud could do some 'funky' shit
from house painter
Could you explain in layman's term how that would work, as exposing electrons for capture?
From House Painter
As I say, I have only heard of Bucky Balls used to propel movement, such as a lubricant, not as an electro-mechanical device. Enlighten me.
well...
aromaticity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromaticity
look at the de localized cloud of electrons. Imagine those relatively free electrons colliding with say an up jump phosphor analogue (upjump can absorb 2 photons in a short period and produce on higher energy photon momentarily later)(or perhaps a electronic chlorophyll?)
So what im saying is on the odd occasion an electron from the cloud interacts with the valence shell of the say metal atom, then it will eventually get ejected....BUT often when a electron is ejected from a valence shell a photon is also ejected....this leads to a momentum imbalance....now the electron will return to the valence cloud where it will become more localised for a time until it stresses the fullerene (or more appropriate structure...looking further into the variety's one has not been found but they are getting closer) and its potential is restored.
So by drawing energy from stressing the carbon cage one has a metal core (which could be a molecular magnet) that is spontaneously under an accelerating force (ie the direction of the force does not hold)
from House Painter
Good idea, but where are the extra electrons going to come from to stabilise the Bucky Balls?
When you eliminate the impossible whatever remains however improbable, must be the truth,
Sounds like an artifical Maxwell's Daemon. ;D
the electons are only gone momentarily, they still get ejected by the metal just in a lower energy state....i was slightly incorrect in my previous explanation
if a electron has an energy above that of the open valence spot (for lack of memory) then due to the nature of electron shells (ie the shells have quantized energy states, discrete) then any excess energy of that electron will be ejected as radiation. the electron will still be ejected from the metal atom in due course at the level it was in the shell....im not sure of the circumstances for ejection
now, these are internal to the structure of the fullerene so they never leave the fullerene, the over all charge of the molecular construct remains the same.
i want to look up that maxwells thingie now
I can not explain whether or not the expelled electrons will regain their potential but they seem to have an avenue...so now what i want to understand is the stress distribution a quasi de localised electron can have on such a construct as it tries to achieve a de localized state once more.
From House Painter;
Thank you, now I will spend the rest of the evening learning what you wroye meant. That will keep me out of trouble for tonight.