About this Event
When light travels to earth from distant stars it is absorbed by molecules in the intervening space. A long-standing mystery is connected with the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), more than 500 absorption lines in the visible part of the spectrum, which until recently could not be connected with any known atom or molecule. Explaining the DIBs, which are presumably associated with exotic molecules, represents one the greatest challenges in molecular spectroscopy. Speculation has abounded – including claims that the DIB carriers are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules, carbon chains, dipole-bound anions, porphyrins, or colour centres in crystals. So far, despite intense experimental efforts, none of these candidate molecules has explained any of the DIBs. It was not until 2016 that five of the bands were assigned to the buckminsterfullerene cation, C60+. What of the remaining 500 DIBs? There is something out there, but what is it?
Canapés and Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream from 6pm.
Presented by Prof. Evan Bieske, School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne.
Evan's research interests lie in the application of laser spectroscopy to the characterization of molecular ions, clusters and nanoparticles in the gas phase, and also in the properties of nanomechanical devices such as AFM cantilevers. His group was the first to obtain high-resolution infrared spectra of anion complexes in the gas phase, and has recently developed new techniques to investigate the properties of molecules that change shape in response to light.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Glyn Davis Theatre (Formerly Basement Theatre, B117), Glyn Davis Building 133 (Melbourne School of Design), Parkville, Australia
AUD 0.00
