I was cruising around Wikipedia just now (because it’s Spring Break and I’m bored) when I found something interesting.

According to this article, Hoberman Spheres are polyhedrons that can be contracted and unfolded to different sizes. A little while before that, I had re-reviewed the article on Fullerenes, which as we all know are compact molecules of carbon in a polygon form. I noticed the two were similar in appearance, and that got the gears in my head spinning, to the point where I asked myself this.

Could you get a Fullerene molecule to behave like a Hoberman Sphere?

I know that carbon is famous for it’s intensely rigid atomic bonds, but I also know that there are circumstances under which molecular bonds flex, extend, or shrink. Could this occur in Fullerenes?

And yes, this is probably a stupid question, but I know jack diddly squat when it comes to these things.