C60+ in space – a 28-year detective story about the Diffuse Interstellar Bands – Part 1

View C60+ in space – a 28-year detective story about the Diffuse Interstellar Bands – Part 1

Presenter: John Maier

Published: January 2016

Age: 14-19 and upwards

Views: 5777 views

Tags: C60;C60+;Carbon60;carbon60+;diffuse;interstellar;spectrum

Type: Lectures

Source/institution: University of Basel


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John Maier, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Basel, describes the journey from the prediction of C60+ in 1987, through tentative assignment of its electronic spectrum by Radioastronomy, measurement in a neon-matrix and finally, in 2015 by John and his team, in a free, space-like environment.  This was the first unambiguous assignment of any of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands, which have puzzled spectroscopists and astronomers for over 100 years.  The subsequent videos in this set explain a little more about the timing of the 2015 discovery and some of the experimental arrangements.