Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
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At £110 million per gram, this isn't a diamond, drug, or metal—it's a carbon cage cradling a nitrogen atom, and it just might reshape our digital lives.
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This material is molecular luxury: a perfectly spherical shell of 60 carbon atoms, each holding a nitrogen secret that’s now the backbone of atomic precision.
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Why does it matter? Because it's shrinking atomic clocks—from room-sized lab beasts to tiny chips that could live inside your smartphone.
With one of these inside, your GPS could be accurate to 1 millimeter—an upgrade that could make autonomous cars truly street-smart.
It’s all about electron spin. This fullerene holds it longer than almost anything else, enabling ultra-precise timing at an atomic level.
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Carbon gives us coal, graphite, diamonds… and now this. Fullerenes—nicknamed “buckyballs”—might be the most elite form of carbon yet.
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The startup that sold just 200mg for £110 million? Designer Carbon Materials. Their product may soon be in every phone on Earth.
Forget pin drops. With this powder powering mini clocks, your phone could know not just which street you’re on—but which side you’re standing.
While the world obsesses over AI and biotech, nanoscience just served up the costliest, tiniest game-changer in tech history—and you probably didn’t hear it coming.
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