D.S. Bethune, G. Meijer, W.C. Tang, H.J. Rosen, "The vibrational Raman spectra of purified solid films of C60 and C70," Chemical Physics Letters, 174:219-22, 1991.

Donald S. Bethune (IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, Calif.): "This paper reports the first vibrational Raman data for C60 and C70, obtained with minuscule samples of these molecules sublimed directly from soot produced by heating graphite in helium (following W. Kratschmer et al., Chemical Physics Letters, 170:167-70, 1990 [Hot Papers, The Scientist, Aug. 19, 1991, page 15]).

"Owing to its extremely high symmetry, C60 has a very simple Raman spectrum. This spectrum provides a clear `vibrational fingerprint' and helped confirm that C60 is indeed a molecular soccerball. The vibrational properties of C60 will be reflected in its solid-state behavior and may even be intimately related to the recently reported superconductivity in C60/alkali-metal compounds at temperatures as high as 33 degrees K (Nature, 352:222-23, 1991)....

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