Carbon

The Allotropes Diamond – a shiny, clear and hard material often used to tip drills and for jewellery as it is shiny and not very reactive Graphite – a grey and opaque material used in pencils as it has weak intermolecular forces between the layers. It also conducts some electricity. Buckminster Fullerene – it is a ball of 60 carbon atoms, and it is used for catalysts, medical applications, tennis rackets and thermal insulation.

Buckminster Fullerene Buckminster Fullerene was discovered by Richard Smalley by accident. He attempting to produce the conditions of near a red giant and to find out what is produced. When they did this, they vaporised graphite under a high power laser in a helium atmosphere and they got lots of carbon structures, but mostly C60, and this was Buckminster Fullerene.

My own use for Buckminster Fullerene I would use nanotubes for a lift up into space that would run along a tube of carbon atoms. This would work as nanotubes are very strong and they are also very thin so wont weigh too much