S-C60
"S-C60 is the proverbial genie. Once we rubbed that bottle it was pretty much that for keeping all the power in the hands of any sort of government. Sure, they put safeties in public fabricators to prevent its manufacture but children are raised with holocomms on their wrists. Anyone with a mind to can figure out a way around those blocks, and that's not to say anything about privately owned fabricators and workbenches. Frankly, the PSC's monetary control system is necessary because as powerful and terrifying as the PSC Omega Point is, the ability to blast a planet in half isn't all that useful when attempting to defend against a lunatic who made enough explosives in his garage to blow open a residential hab."
Exotic Allotrope
S-C60 is an unbalanced Buckminsterfullerene, a so-called "imperfect buckyball." Buckyballs are carbon allotropes arranged in a symmetrical icosahedral configuration. They're known for high resistance to temperature and pressure. C60 is used in lubricants, medicines, and conventional (non-quantum) energy production. S-C60 (Strained Carbon 60) is used for one thing. As an allotrope, pressors are used during the bonding process to draw one corner, putting a strain on the structure reminiscent of a Prince Rupert's drop. The 'bulb' of the molecule is nearly indestructible, with the strain placed on it reinforcing the structure at an atomic level. The tail, however, is relatively fragile, and when 'clipped,' it shatters in every direction. This can be accomplished with a particle stream or a chemical reaction of chlorosulfonic acid. When the 'tail' is 'clipped,' the resulting release sends carbon atoms violently in every direction, clipping more tails and sending more atoms in every direction. The chain reaction results in an explosion with a relatively small amount of S-C60. The explosive potential of the material is truly awe-inspiring.
Easy Manufacture
Fabricators can create carbon allotropes easily, and S-C60 is no exception. While public-use fabricators have blocks on them for public safety, these are often hacked with a jailbreak. Not all of these hacks are nefarious; S-C60 is used for everything from stump removal to clearing stone for roadwork to rocketry. S-C60 is the fuel for 15mm Rounds, combustion engines, and down-and-dirty generators. That being said, it's also used in bombs, IEDs, and booby traps. The ease of access and manufacture of the material is a serious public security risk.
Fire of the Gods
S-C60 has been analogized with dozens of myths. A genie from a bottle, Pandora's Box, and Prometheus' Fire. The last analogy is the most common, because the social impact of the material, its power, and its ease of manufacture. A thumb-sized amount of the material can blast the treads off a tank, crack Carbexene armor, vaporize a human body, or fling shrapnel with high velocities. Homemade 15mm Rounds and even old-style slugthrowers are on the table. Simply put, 'gun control' in human space in the Age of Convergence is something of a joke. The inability for any governmental entity to keep and maintain a monopoly of force is one of the primary reasons for alternative means of control such as Harmony and Detente and the Licensing System.
The Math
A single S-C60 molecule stores around 100-120 eV of strain energy due to the extreme strain of the allotrope's configuration.
-Energy per Molecule: ~100 eV = 1.6×10−17 joules1.6 \times 10^-17 joules.
-Energy per Gram: 1.34×106 joules/gram.
-TNT Equivalent: S-C60 is approximately 320× more powerful than TNT per gram.
S-C60
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