C-60 VIBRATES AS A HOLLOW SPHERE

A model for the vibrations of a cage molecule in terms of the motions of an infinitely thin spherical shell is applied to icosahedral C60. W hen appropriate values are given to the two free parameters, the model accounts for the general pattern, energy ordering, radial, and tangen tial characteristics of the vibrations, giving results comparable to t hose from a six-parameter conventional valence force field. In the mod el, the lowest frequency of any spherical-shell molecule is the ''d'' squashing deformation that describes tidal waves on a flooded planet.