Architecture in Nanospace: Nobel Laureate delivers nineteenth Schrodinger Lecture at Imperial College London

Leading nanoscientist delivers annual address - News

By Danielle Reeves
15 December 2006

Professor Sir Harold Kroto began this year's Faculty of Natural Sciences Schrodinger Lecture by revealing what had motivated him to pursue a career in science – and in the nanoscience field, with which his name has become synonymous. It was, he said, the realisation that in science things aren't always straightforward, and that if A is equal to B, B is not always equal to A. This is a fact which particularly applies to the science of the very small, with which he has been primarily concerned for over 30 years.

The opening minutes of the lecture enabled Sir Harold to fill the audience in with a potted history of his illustrious career in chemistry, nanoscience and nanotechnology. Beginning his career with a degree in chemistry and early research posts looking at different types of spectroscopy and quantum chemistry, he then went on to launch a research programme looking at long carbon chains in space, at the University of Sussex. It was during this time that he and his team devised an experiment to simulate the carbon chemistry that occurs in the atmosphere of a carbon star. This experiment led to the discovery of C60 Buckminsterfullerene – a new carbon molecule.

It was for this discovery that Sir Harold was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996, along with his collaborators from the Rice University, USA. This discovery revolutionised the way scientists and engineers think about materials, as did the cylindrical 'buckytubes' (or carbon nanotubes) which were discovered at the same time. These miniscule tubes have remarkable properties – they are extremely strong, they have unique electrical properties and are efficient conductors of heat, and since the 1970s they have become the focus of significant nanoscience research.

Thirty years on, the potential applications for Kroto's discovery are immense. The unique carbon structures will be used to make low cost solar power cells of the future, and scientists now are using the tubes as miniscule test tubes, putting iron particles inside them. In a recent experiment, Sir Harold himself has been looking at how new carbon nanotubes can be created by placing an iron particle inside an 'envelope' of multiple nanotubes.

But Sir Harold emphasised that for these kinds of discoveries to be taken forward in the future, there needs to be much higher levels of engagement with science in society. "Politicians and journalists need to know much more about science than they do," he said. Sir Harold also recognises that getting young people interested in careers in science is the key to making sure that more discoveries like his are made in the future.

The main hurdle with young people is the negative image of scientists and science that is portrayed in the media and through popular culture: "Can scientists shake off their 'mad' media image?" Sir Harold asked, before showing the lecture audience a typical picture of Albert Einstein, complete with 'mad' hair. He continued to reveal that what most people don't know is that Einstein's major discoveries and theories were proposed when he was a very young man. Perhaps if pictures of Einstein in his twenties were more commonplace, popular perception of scientists wouldn't be so negative.

Sir Harold concluded the lecture by talking about the Vega Science Trust which he established in 1995 to create science films for broadcast on network television. The aim of the trust is to promote science by producing high quality films which convey the excitement of scientific discovery and also explain the intrinsic concepts and principles without which fundamental understanding of science is impossible. It also records scientists who contributed significantly to sciences and are outstanding communicators.

About the Schrodinger lecture series

The Erwin Schrodinger Lecture is an annual event named after the noted Austrian scientist. Schrodinger was a theoretical physicist and a significant contributor to the wave theory of matter, a form of quantum physics. He mathematically devised an equation of wave mechanics that bears his name. He was a co-recipient of the 1933 Nobel Prize for physics. Today he is popularly known for the paradox of Schrodinger's Cat.

Watch the lecture "Architecture in Nanospace" (Real Player)

Video footage taken by Imperial's Media Services Team