Mathematica on Raspberry Pi

Constructing a Geometrically Accurate Buckyball Using Mathematica

My Masters Thesis was, "Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon-60 and Single Wall Nanotube Intercalation Compounds." Another name for Carbon-60 is, "Buckminsterfullerene," which is most often and affectionately referred to as a, "Buckyball." Yes, the name derives from the fact that a C-60 molecule resembles the geodesic dome architectural style popularized by R. Buckminster Fuller.

The image (at left or above depending on your screen size) is my attempt at depicting a Buckyball (you may recognize it as the favicon for the STEAM Curated site). I cannot remember what sparked me to do this. It was not something I needed nor was required to produce. Nonetheless, one day in the late 90s, I was taken to try my hand at coding this.

After my initial go, that day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in late 1990-something, I had intentions of returning to the project to improve my product. I never did. I'd like it to

• be transparent such that all carbon atoms are visible (i.e. in the current version, one cannot see the atoms on the far side).

• rotate about two perpendicular axes

• easily change color at the user's discretion

Maybe you are the one to make these features a reality. Maybe you have other ideas that could be implemented.

So, I am providing my code. Copy it into a Mathematica Notebook on your Raspberry Pi, get my version working, and then see what you can do!

~Matthew