It turned out that the buckyball, the soccer ball, was something of a Rosetta stone of an infinite new class of molecules.
Richard SmalleyRead
Nature - how, we don't know - has technology that works in every living cell and that depends on every atom being precisely in the right spot. Enzymes are precise down to the last atom. They're molecules. You put the last atom in, and it's done. Nature does things with molecular perfection.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nature operates with incredible precision, particularly at the molecular level, highlighting the intricate technology within every living cell.
This quote emphasizes the remarkable level of precision that nature exhibits in the functioning of living cells. Richard Smalley points out that enzymes and biological processes are built with such exactness that even the slightest deviation can alter their function. It highlights the sophistication of nature's design and the underlying technology that allows life to thrive through meticulous chemical interactions.
Themes
NaturePrecisionScienceMolecularTechnologyEnzymes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental conservation, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of nature's intricate systems.
More from Richard Smalley
All quotes →Carbon has this genius of making a chemically stable, two-dimensional, one-atom-thick membrane in a three-dimensional world. And that, I believe, is going to be very important in the future of chemistry and technology in general.
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Essentially, every technology you have ever heard of, where electrons move from here to there, has the potential to be revolutionized by the availability of molecular wires made up of carbon. Organic chemists will start building devices. Molecular electronics could become reality.
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