2. Bob Curl had invited me to Rice after the conference

3. Rick Smalley

4. Rick Smalley at Rice University in Texas had developed a laser vapourisation technique to make metal clusters Aluminium

5. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● If we replace the metal by graphite The carbon atoms should react to form carbon chains ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

6. .. so simulate the conditions which produced our cyanopolyynes in the Red Giant IRC 10216 H−C≡C−C≡C−C≡NH−C≡C−C≡C−C≡N H−C≡C−C≡NH−C≡C−C≡N H−C≡C−C≡C−C≡C−C≡NH−C≡C−C≡C−C≡C−C≡N

8. Magnetic Pulsed Valve

9. Hole for the laser pulse

10. Graphite Laser Helium Laser pulse creates a 10,000 o carbon plasma

11. Nozzle Plasma Skimmer hole Mass Spectrometer

12. The very sharp edged skimmer skims the expanding pulse into a very narrow beam Supersonic Expansion into the vacuum chamber cools the clusters to very low temperatures

13. Skimmer action more slowly

15. Resonant 2-photon ionisation (R2PI) spectroscopy of SiC 2 Si C

16. Graphite Laser Helium Laser pulse creates a 10,000 o carbon plasma

17. Jim got me some money yet again to come to the Austin conference in Easter 1984

18. Magnetic Pulsed Valve

19. Bob Curl invited me to visit him at Rice University in Houston at Easter 1984 after a conference in Austin

20. Si=N−H N≡Si−H

21. Harry Kroto 2004 H−C≡C−C≡C−C≡NH−C≡C−C≡C−C≡N H−C≡C−C≡NH−C≡C−C≡N H−C≡C−C≡C−C≡C−C≡NH−C≡C−C≡C−C≡C−C≡N