F. Sato and D. S. Galvão
State University of Campinas - UNICAMP, Brazil
 
This figure is a snapshot from a classical molecular dynamics simulation of C60 molecules in a carbon nanotube. The C60 molecules were added into the tube one by one and the structure optimized. The process was repeated for up to 20 C60 molecules. The simulation shows the spontaneous formation of a well-defined double helix structure. The C60 molecules are painted in different colors to help visualize the helical structure.