Buckminsterfullerene, C60, is a large molecule consisting of 60 carbon atoms connected to form a hollow sphere. The
diameter of a C60 molecule is about 7 × 10−10 m. It has been hypothesized that C60 molecules might be found in clouds of
interstellar dust, which often contain interesting chemical compounds. The temperature of an interstellar dust cloud may be
very low, around 3 K. Suppose you are planning to try to detect the presence of C60 in such a cold dust cloud by detecting
photons emitted when molecules undergo transitions from one rotational energy state to another.
Approximately, what is the highest-numbered rotational level from which you would expect to observe emissions?
Rotational levels are l = 0, 1, 2, 3, ….
It is important to work through the first four computational problems in detail in order to make the ideas concrete.