Words at Play : Top 10 Unusually Long and Interesting Words, Vol. 1
Definition:
an extremely stable form of pure carbon whose structure consists of interconnected
pentagons and hexagons suggestive of the geometry of a geodesic dome
About the word:
Buckminsterfullerene, discovered in 1985, was named in honor of the engineer R.
Buckminster Fuller. He developed the geodesic dome which, like a molecule of buckminsterfullerene, resembles a
soccer ball. A molecule of buckminsterfullerene is also called a buckyball.