Carbon

Carbon
Statistics of Carbon

Carbon is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number : 6
Atomic Mass: 12.0107 Atomic Mass Units 
Atomic Symbol: C
Melting Point: 3550°C (Given for Diamond)

Boiling Point: 4027°C (Given for Diamond)

Period Number: 2

Valence Electrons: 4
Phase of Carbon at room temperature: Solid
Group: Carbon Group
Group Number: 14

Density: 3500 g/cm³ (Given for Diamond)  

Isotopes: Carbon-12(¹²C), Carbon-13(¹³C)
Allotropes: Graphite, Diamond, Amorphous Carbon, Lonsdaleite, Fullerene, Carbon Nanotube 
% in Universe: 0.5%

% in Sun: 0.3%

% in Meteorites: 1.5%

% in Earth's Crust: 0.18% 

% in Oceans: 0.0028%

% in Humans: 23%

The English name carbon comes from the Latin carbo for coal and charcoal, whence also comes the French charbon, meaning charcoal. In German, Dutch and Danish, the names for carbon are Kohlenstoff, koolstof and kulstof respectively, all literally meaning coal-substance.

Carbon was discovered in prehistory and was known in the forms of soot and charcoal to the earliest human civilizations. Diamonds were known probably as early as 2500 BCE in China, while carbon in the form of charcoal was made around Roman  times by the same chemistry as it is today, by heating wood in a pyramid covered with clay to exclude air.

In 1722, René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur demonstrated that iron was transformed into steel through the absorption of some substance, now known to be carbon. In 1772, Antoine Lavoisier showed that diamonds are a form of carbon; when he burned samples of charcoal and diamond and found that neither produced any water and that both released the same amount of carbon dioxide per gram. In 1779,Carl Wilhelm Scheele showed that graphite, which had been thought of as a form of lead, was instead identical with charcoal but with a small admixture of iron, and that it gave "aerial acid" (his name for carbon dioxide) when oxidized with nitric acid.In 1786, the French scientists Claude Louis Berthollet, Gaspard Monge and C. A. Vandermonde confirmed that graphite was mostly carbon by oxidizing it in oxygen in much the same way Lavoisier had done with diamond. Some iron again was left, which the French scientists thought was necessary to the graphite structure. However, in their publication they proposed the name carbone (Latin carbonum) for the element in graphite which was given off as a gas upon burning graphite. Antoine Lavoisier then listed carbon as an element in his 1789 textbook.

Importance of Carbon

All living organisms contain carbon; the human body is about 18% carbon by weight. In green plants carbon dioxide and water are combined to form simple sugars (carbohydrates); light from the sun provides the energy for this process (photosynthesis). The energy from the sun is stored in the chemical bonds of the sugar molecule. Anabolism, the synthesis of complex compounds (such as fats, proteins, and nucleic acids) from simpler substances, involves the utilization of energy stored by photosynthesis. Catabolism is the release of stored energy by the oxidative destruction of organic compounds; water and carbon dioxide are two byproducts of catabolism. This continuing synthesis and degradation involving carbon dioxide is known as the biological carbon cycle

Bad effects of Carbon

Carbon dioxide is not normally considered a pollutant because it is a normal constituent of air. However, excess of carbon dioxide is considered a pollutant because it leads to adverse effects on the environment. The higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is likely to increase the temperature of the atmosphere. As already discussed carbon dioxide permits the short wavelength visible radiations to pass through it but traps the longer wavelength infra-red radiations (heat waves) reflected by the earth’s surface. This trapping of heat waves causes excessive heating of earth’s atmosphere. This heating effect on earth produced in this way is called Greenhouse Effect. The excessive heating of earth and its atmosphere ca have adverse effect on our climate, which will affect all the living beings. The climate will become gradually hot.

Experiment

Want to see a cool experiment on Carbon? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment.

Carbon Experiment

Wasn't that awesome! The graphite turned into a snake shaped figure.

How Carbon is used and The History of Carbon

Coke

Carbon exists in the stars; a series of thermonuclear reactions called the carbon cycle (see nucleosynthesis) is a source of energy for some stars. Carbon in the form of diamonds has been found in meteorites. Coke is used as a fuel in the production of iron. Carbon electrodes are widely used in electrical apparatus. The "lead" of the ordinary pencil is graphite mixed with clay. The successful linking in the 1940s of carbon with silicon has led to the development of a vast number of new substances known collectively as the silicones.

Interesting Facts about Carbon

1. About 20% of the weight of living organisms is carbon.
2. More compounds are known which contain carbon than don’t.
3. Diamond is an excellent abrasive because it is the hardest common material and it also has the highest thermal conductivity. It can grind down any substance, while the heat generated by friction is swiftly conducted away.
4. The carbon atoms in your body were all once part of the carbon dioxide fraction of the atmosphere.
5. Graphene is the thinnest, strongest material ever known.
6. Graphene is made of 2-dimensional atomic crystals, the first time such structures have ever been seen.
7. The graphite in a typical mechanical pencil has a diameter of 0.7 mm. This is equal to 2 million layers of graphene.
8. Car tires are black because they are about 30% carbon black, which is added to rubber to strengthen it. The carbon black also helps protect against UV damage to the tires.
9. Carbon is made within stars when they burn helium in nuclear fusion reactions. Carbon is part of the ‘ash’ formed by helium burning.
10. Carbon undergoes nuclear fusion reactions in heavy stars to make neon, magnesium and oxygen.
11. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe.

Be sure to check out my next post on Nitrogen.