6 boron ← carbon → nitrogen - ↑ C ↓ Si periodic table
General
Name, Symbol, Number	carbon, C, 6
Chemical series	nonmetals
Group, Period, Block	14, 2, p
Appearance	black (graphite) colorless (diamond)
Atomic mass	12.0107(8) g/mol
Electron configuration	1s2 2s2 2p2
Electrons per shell	2, 4
Physical properties
Phase	solid
Density (near r.t.)	(graphite) 2.267 g/cm³
Density (near r.t.)	(diamond) 3.513 g/cm³
Melting point	? triple point, ca. 10 MPa and (4300–4700) K (? °C, ? °F)
Boiling point	subl. ? ca. 4000 K (? °C, ? °F)
Heat of fusion	(graphite) ? 100 kJ/mol
Heat of fusion	(diamond) ? 120 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	? 355.8 kJ/mol
Heat capacity	(25 °C) (graphite) 8.517 J/(mol·K)
Heat capacity	(25 °C) (diamond) 6.115 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure (graphite) P/Pa 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T/K   2839 3048 3289 3572 3908
Atomic properties
Crystal structure	hexagonal
Oxidation states	4, 2 (mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity	2.55 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies (more)	1st: 1086.5 kJ/mol
	2nd: 2352.6 kJ/mol
	3rd: 4620.5 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	70 pm
Atomic radius (calc.)	67 pm
Covalent radius	77 pm
Van der Waals radius	170 pm
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) (graphite) (119–165) W/(m·K)
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) (diamond) (900–2320) W/(m·K)
Thermal diffusivity	(300 K) (diamond) (503–1300) mm²/s
Mohs hardness	(graphite) 0.5
Mohs hardness	(diamond) 10.0
CAS registry number	7440-44-0
Notable isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of carbon iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP 12C 98.9% C is stable with 6 neutrons 13C 1.1% C is stable with 7 neutrons 14C trace 5730 y beta- 0.156 14N
References

Carbon is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol C and atomic number 6. An abundant nonmetallic, tetravalent element, carbon has several allotropic forms: General Name, Symbol, Number boron, B, 5 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 13, 2, p Appearance black/brown Atomic mass 10. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance dark gray, bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x270, 20 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... For information about the period table of elements, see Periodic table. ... This is a list of chemical elements, sorted by name and color coded according to type of element. ... Categories: Chemical elements ... A chemical series is a group of chemical elements whose physical and chemical characteristics vary progressively from one end of the series to another. ... Together with the metals and metalloids, a nonmetal is one of three categories of chemical elements as distinguished by ionisation and bonding properties. ... A periodic table group is a vertical column in the periodic table of the chemical elements. ... In the periodic table of the elements, a period is a row of the table. ... A block of the periodic table of elements is a set of adjacent groups. ... The carbon group is group 14 (IUPAC style) in the periodic table. ... A period 2 element is one of the chemical elements in the second row (or period) of the periodic table of the elements. ... The p-block of the periodic table of elements consists of the last six groups. ... Color is an important part of the visual arts. ... Carbon sample. ... The atomic mass of a chemical element (also known as the relative atomic mass or average atomic mass or atomic weight) is the average atomic mass of all the chemical elements isotopes as found in a particular environment, weighted by isotopic abundance. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude we list here masses between 6. ... Electron atomic and molecular orbitals In atomic physics, the electron configuration is the arrangement of electrons in an atom, molecule or other body. ... Properties The electron is a fundamental subatomic particle which carries a negative electric charge. ... A quantum mechanical system can only be in certain states, so that only certain energy levels are possible. ... In the physical sciences, a phase is a set of states of a macroscopic physical system that have relatively uniform chemical composition and physical properties (i. ... In jewelry, a solid gold piece is the alternative to gold-filled or gold-plated jewelry. ... Density (symbol: ρ - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume. ... Room temperature, in laboratory reports, is taken to be roughly 21–23 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit), or 294–296 kelvins. ... Density (symbol: ρ - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume. ... Room temperature, in laboratory reports, is taken to be roughly 21–23 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit), or 294–296 kelvins. ... The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. ... The kelvin (symbol: K) is the SI unit of temperature, and is one of the seven SI base units. ... The degree Celsius (°C) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... It has been suggested that Saturation temperature be merged into this article or section. ... Sublimation of an element or substance is a conversion between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter, with no intermediate liquid stage. ... The kelvin (symbol: K) is the SI unit of temperature, and is one of the seven SI base units. ... The degree Celsius (°C) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... Heat of fusion is the amount of heat energy which must be absorbed or lost for 1 gram of a substance to change states from a solid to a liquid or vice versa. ... Kilojoule per mole are an SI derived unit of energy per amount of material, where energy is measured in units of 1000 joules, and the amount of material is measured in mole units. ... Heat of fusion is the amount of heat energy which must be absorbed or lost for 1 gram of a substance to change states from a solid to a liquid or vice versa. ... Kilojoule per mole are an SI derived unit of energy per amount of material, where energy is measured in units of 1000 joules, and the amount of material is measured in mole units. ... The standard enthalpy change of vaporization is a physical property of substances. ... Kilojoule per mole are an SI derived unit of energy per amount of material, where energy is measured in units of 1000 joules, and the amount of material is measured in mole units. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The vapor pressure is the pressure (if the vapor is mixed with other gases, the partial pressure) of a vapor(this vapour being formed from molecules/atoms escaping from a liquid/solid). ... Rose des Sables (Sand Rose), formed of gypsum crystals In mineralogy and crystallography, a crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. ... The oxidation state or oxidation number is defined as the sum of negative and positive charges in an atom, which indirectly indicates the number of electrons it has accepted or donated. ... In databases, ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. ... Electronegativity is a measure of the ability of an atom or molecule to attract electrons in the context of a chemical bond. ... Electronegativity is a measure of the attraction that an atom has for the bonding pair of electrons in a covalent bond. ... The ionization energy (IE) of an atom or of a molecule is the energy required to strip it of an electron. ... These tables list the ionization energy in kJ/mol necessary to remove an electron from a neutral atom (first energy), respectively from a singly, doubly, etc. ... Kilojoule per mole are an SI derived unit of energy per amount of material, where energy is measured in units of 1000 joules, and the amount of material is measured in mole units. ... The hot butt sexis the distance from the atomic nucleus to the outmost stable electron orbital in a atom that is at equilibrium. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 pm and 100 pm (10-11 m and 10-12 m). ... Picometre (American spelling: picometer) is an SI measure of length that is equal to 10−12 of a metre. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 pm and 100 pm (10-11 m and 10-12 m). ... Covalent radius in chemistry corresponds to half of the distance between two identical atomic nuclei, bound by a covalent bond. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 pm and 100 pm (10-11 m and 10-12 m). ... The van der Waals radius of an atom is the radius of an imaginary hard sphere which can be used to model the atom for many purposes. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 100 pm and 1 nm (10-10 m and 10-9 m). ... In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ... Brugmans (in 1778) was the first person to observe that certain materials were repelled by magnetic fields. ... In physics, thermal conductivity, λ, is the intensive property of a material which relates its ability to conduct heat. ... In physics, thermal conductivity, λ, is the quantity of heat transmitted, due to unit temperature gradient, in unit time under steady conditions in a direction normal to a surface of unit area, when the heat transfer is dependent only on the temperature gradient thermal conductivity = heat flow rate / (distance × temperature... In physics, thermal conductivity, λ, is the intensive property of a material which relates its ability to conduct heat. ... In physics, thermal conductivity, λ, is the quantity of heat transmitted, due to unit temperature gradient, in unit time under steady conditions in a direction normal to a surface of unit area, when the heat transfer is dependent only on the temperature gradient thermal conductivity = heat flow rate / (distance × temperature... In heat transfer analysis, thermal diffusivity (symbol: ) is the ratio of thermal conductivity to heat capacity. ... Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer. ... Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer. ... CAS registry numbers are unique numerical identifiers for chemical compounds, polymers, biological sequences, mixtures and alloys. ... Carbon (C) Standard atomic mass: 12. ... Isotopes are forms of an element whose nuclei have the same atomic number–-the number of protons in the nucleus--but different atomic masses because they contain different numbers of neutrons. ... Natural abundance refers to the prevalence of different isotopes of an element as found in nature. ... Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ... In physics, the decay mode describes a particular way a particle decays. ... The decay energy is the energy released by a nuclear decay. ... An electronvolt (symbol: eV) is the amount of energy gained by a single unbound electron when it falls through an electrostatic potential difference of one volt. ... In nuclear physics, a decay product, also known as a daughter product, is a nuclide resulting from the radioactive decay of a parent or precursor nuclide. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Properties In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 939. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Properties In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 939. ... A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus. ... A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... In nuclear physics, beta decay (sometimes called neutron decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (an electron or a positron) is emitted. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... Recommended values for many properties of the elements, together with various references, are collected on these data pages. ... A chemical element, often called simply element, is a chemical substance that cannot be divided or changed into other chemical substances by any ordinary chemical technique. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements, also called the Mendeleev periodic table, is a tabular display of the known chemical elements first created in 1869 by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. ... The atomic number (Z) is a term used in chemistry and physics to represent the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom. ... Together with the metals and metalloids, a nonmetal is one of three categories of chemical elements as distinguished by ionisation and bonding properties. ... In chemistry, valency is the power of an atom of an element to combine with other atoms measured by the number of electrons which an atom will give, take, or share to form a chemical bond. ... The allotropes of carbon are the different molecular configurations (allotropes) that pure carbon can take. ...

• Diamond (hardest known natural mineral). Structure: each atom is bonded tetrahedrally to four others, making a 3-dimensional network of puckered six-membered rings of atoms.
• Graphite (one of the softest substances). Structure: each atom is bonded trigonally to three other atoms, making a 2-dimensional network of flat six-membered rings; the flat sheets are loosely bonded.
• Fullerenes. Structure: comparatively large molecules formed completely of carbon bonded trigonally, forming spheroids (of which the best-known and simplest is the buckminsterfullerene or buckyball).
• Chaoite A mineral supposedly formed in meteorite impacts.
• Lonsdaleite (a corruption of diamond). Structure: similar to diamond, but forming a hexagonal crystal lattice.
• Amorphous carbon (a glassy substance). Structure: an assortment of carbon molecules in a non-crystalline, irregular, glassy state.
• Carbon nanofoam (an extremely light magnetic web). Structure: a low-density web of graphite-like clusters, in which the atoms are bonded trigonally in six- and seven-membered rings.
• Carbon nanotubes (tiny tubes). Structure: each atom is bonded trigonally in a curved sheet that forms a hollow cylinder.
• Aggregated diamond nanorods, the most recently discovered allotrope and the hardest substance known to man.

Lamp black consists of small graphitic areas. These areas are randomly distributed, so the whole structure is isotropic. Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... This article is about minerals in the geologic sense; for nutrient minerals see dietary mineral; for the band see Mineral (band). ... Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... Fullerene C540 The Fullerenes are a recently discovered allotrope of carbon (the best known being diamond and graphite). ... Chaoite is an allotrope of carbon discovered in 1968 in shock-fused graphite gneiss from the Ries crater in Bavaria. ... Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal polymorph of the carbon allotrope diamond, believed to form when meteoric graphite falls to Earth. ... Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Amorphous carbon is the name used for carbon that does not have any crystalline structure. ... Carbon nanofoam is an allotrope of carbon discovered in 1997 by Andrei V. Rode and co-workers at the Australian National University in Canberra. ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ... Aggregated diamond nanorods, or ADNRs, are an allotrope of carbon believed to be the least compressible material known to man, as measured by its isothermal bulk modulus; aggregated diamond nanorods have a modulus of 491 gigapascals (GPa), while conventional diamond has a modulus of 442 GPa. ... Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen. ...

'Glassy carbon' is isotropic and contains a high proportion of closed porosity. Unlike normal graphite, the graphitic layers are not stacked like pages in a book, but have a more random arrangement. Glassy carbon is a class of non-graphitizing carbon which is widely used as an electrode material in electrochemistry, as well as for high temperature crucibles and as a component of some prosthetic devices. ...

Carbon fibers are similar to glassy carbon. Under special treatment (stretching of organic fibers and carbonization) it is possible to arrange the carbon planes in direction of the fiber. Perpendicular to the fiber axis there is no orientation of the carbon planes. The result are fibers with a higher specific strength than steel.

Carbon occurs in all organic life and is the basis of organic chemistry. This nonmetal also has the interesting chemical property of being able to bond with itself and a wide variety of other elements, forming nearly 10 million known compounds. When united with oxygen it forms carbon dioxide which is absolutely vital to plant growth. When united with hydrogen, it forms various compounds called hydrocarbons which are essential to industry in the form of fossil fuels. When combined with both oxygen and hydrogen it can form many groups of compounds including fatty acids, which are essential to life, and esters, which give flavor to many fruits. The isotope carbon-14 is commonly used in radioactive dating. Life is a multi-faceted concept. ... Organic chemistry is the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds that by definition contain carbon. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Hydrocarbons are refined at oil refineries and chemical plants In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ... Coal rail cars in Ashtabula, Ohio Fossil fuels, also known as mineral fuels, are hydrocarbon-containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. ... In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid (or organic acid), often with a long aliphatic tail (long chains), either saturated or unsaturated. ... Isotopes are forms of an element whose nuclei have the same atomic number–-the number of protons in the nucleus--but different atomic masses because they contain different numbers of neutrons. ... Carbon-14 is the radioactive isotope of carbon discovered February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. ... Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials based on a knowledge of the decay rates of naturally occurring isotopes, and the current abundances. ...

Notable characteristics

Carbon is a remarkable element for many reasons. Its different forms include one of the softest (graphite) and one of the hardest (diamond) substances known to humankind. Moreover, it has a great affinity for bonding with other small atoms, including other carbon atoms, and its small size makes it capable of forming multiple bonds. Because of these properties, carbon is known to form nearly ten million different compounds, the large majority of all chemical compounds. Carbon compounds form the basis of all life on Earth and the carbon-nitrogen cycle provides some of the energy produced by the sun and other stars. Moreover, carbon has the highest melting/sublimation point of all elements. At atmospheric pressure it has no actual melting point as its triple point is at 10 MPa (100 bar) so it sublimates above 4000 K. Thus it remains solid at higher temperatures than the highest melting point metals like tungsten or rhenium, regardless of its allotropic form. A chemical bond is the phenomenon of atoms being held together in molecules, crystals or in solid metal. ... Properties An atom (Greek άτομον from ά: non and τομον: divisible) is a submicroscopic structure found in all ordinary matter. ... Earth, also known as Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... The CNO (carbon-nitrogen_oxygen) cycle is one of two fusion reactions by which stars convert hydrogen to helium, the other being the proton-proton chain. ... The Sun (or Sol) is the star at the center of our Solar system. ... The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ... In physics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which three phases (gas, liquid, and solid) of that substance may coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium. ... Look up bar and Bar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sublimation of an element or substance is a conversion between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter, with no intermediate liquid stage. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tungsten, W, 74 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 6, d Appearance grayish white, lustrous Atomic mass 183. ... General Name, Symbol, Number rhenium, Re, 75 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 6, d Appearance grayish white Atomic mass 186. ...

Carbon was not created in the Big Bang due to the fact that it needs a triple collision of alpha particles (helium nuclei) to be produced. The universe initially expanded and cooled too fast for that to be possible. It is produced, however, in the interior of stars in the horizontal branch, where stars transform a helium core into carbon by means of the triple-alpha process. It was also created in a multi atomic state. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe originated in an extremely dense and hot state (bottom). ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ... In stellar astronomy, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (usually referred to by the abbreviation H-R diagram or HRD) shows the relationship between absolute magnitude, luminosity, stellar classification, and surface temperature. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... The triple alpha process is the process by which three helium nuclei (alpha particles) are transformed into carbon. ...

Applications

Carbon is a vital component of all known living systems, and without it life as we know it could not exist (see alternative biochemistry). The major economic use of carbon is in the form of hydrocarbons, most notably the fossil fuels methane gas and crude oil (petroleum). Crude oil is used by the petrochemical industry to produce, amongst others, gasoline and kerosene, through a distillation process, in refineries. Crude oil forms the raw material for many synthetic substances, many of which are collectively called plastics. Alternative biochemistry collectively refers to an assortment of astrobiology theories and hypotheses in which life is based on chemical systems other than those used by currently known forms of life. ... Coal rail cars in Ashtabula, Ohio Fossil fuels, also known as mineral fuels, are hydrocarbon-containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. ... R-phrases S-phrases , , , Flash point −188 °C Autoignition temperature 537 °C Explosive limits 5–15% Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petrus – rock and oleum – oil), mineral oil, or crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths... ... Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Russian kerosene lamp Kerosene or paraffin oil (British English, not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin) is a colorless flammable hydrocarbon liquid. ... Strathisla whisky distillery in Keith, Scotland Distillation is a means of separating liquids through differences in their vapor pressures. ... A refinery is a building and/or the equipment used for refining or processing specific products. ... Plastic bottles for recycling Plastic is a term that covers a range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products. ...

Other uses

• The isotope Carbon-14 was discovered in February 27, 1940 and is used in radiocarbon dating.
• Graphite is combined with clays to form the 'lead' used in pencils.
• Diamond is used for decorative purposes, and also as drill bits and other applications making use of its hardness.
• Carbon is added to iron to make steel.
• Carbon is used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors.
• Graphite carbon in a powdered, caked form is used as charcoal for cooking, artwork and other uses.
• Activated charcoal is used in medicine (as powder or compounded in tablets or capsules) to absorb toxins or poisons from the digestive system.

The chemical and structural properties of fullerenes, in the form of carbon nanotubes, has promising potential uses in the nascent field of nanotechnology. Nanoparticles might however be toxic. Carbon-14 is the radioactive isotope of carbon discovered February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to ca 60,000 years. ... Quaternary clay in Estonia. ... It has been suggested that pencil lead be merged into this article or section. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium which reduces the velocity of fast neutrons, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction. ... Core of a nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate (as opposed to a nuclear explosion, where the chain reaction occurs in a split second). ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents of animal and vegetable substances. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Art Resources ArtLex. ... Absorption has a number of meanings: In physics, absorption is a process in which particles of some sort encounter another material and are taken up by or even disappear in it. ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ...

History and Etymology

Carbon was discovered in prehistory and was known to the ancients, who manufactured it by burning organic material in insufficient oxygen (making charcoal). Diamonds have long been considered rare and beautiful. One of the last-known allotropes of carbon, fullerenes, were discovered as byproducts of molecular beam experiments in the 1980s. Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents of animal and vegetable substances. ... Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Fullerene C540 The Fullerenes are a recently discovered allotrope of carbon (the best known being diamond and graphite). ...

The name comes from French charbone, which in turn came from Latin carbo, meaning charcoal. In German and Dutch, the names for carbon are Kohlenstoff and koolstof respectively, both literally meaning "coal-stuff". Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). ...

Allotropes

The allotropes of carbon are the different molecular configurations (allotropes) that pure carbon can take. Example of allotropic materials: graphite vs. ...

The three relatively well-known allotropes of carbon are amorphous carbon, graphite, and diamond. Several exotic allotropes have also been synthesized or discovered, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, lonsdaleite and aggregated diamond nanorods. Amorphous carbon is the name used for carbon that does not have any crystalline structure. ... Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Fullerene C540 The Fullerenes are a recently discovered allotrope of carbon (the best known being diamond and graphite). ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ... Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal polymorph of the carbon allotrope diamond, believed to form when meteoric graphite falls to Earth. ... Aggregated diamond nanorods, or ADNRs, are an allotrope of carbon believed to be the least compressible material known to man, as measured by its isothermal bulk modulus; aggregated diamond nanorods have a modulus of 491 gigapascals (GPa), while conventional diamond has a modulus of 442 GPa. ...

In its amorphous form, carbon is essentially graphite but not held in a crystalline macrostructure. It is, rather, present as a powder which is the main constituent of substances such as charcoal, lamp black (soot) and activated carbon. Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents of animal and vegetable substances. ... Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen. ... Soot, also called lampblack, Pigment Black 7, or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of... Activated carbon (also called activated charcoal) is the more general term which includes carbon material mostly derived from charcoal. ...

Basic phase diagram of carbon, which shows the state of matter for varying temperatures and pressures. The hashed regions indicate conditions under which one phase is metastable, so that two phases can coexist.

At normal pressures carbon takes the form of graphite, in which each atom is bonded to three others in a plane composed of fused hexagonal rings, just like those in aromatic hydrocarbons. The two known forms of graphite, alpha (hexagonal) and beta (rhombohedral), both have identical physical properties, except for their crystal structure. Graphites that naturally occur have been found to contain up to 30% of the beta form, when synthetically-produced graphite only contains the alpha form. The alpha form can be converted to the beta form through mechanical treatment and the beta form reverts back to the alpha form when it is heated above 1000 °C. Basic phase diagram of carbon, which shows the state of matter for varying temperatures and pressures. ... Basic phase diagram of carbon, which shows the state of matter for varying temperatures and pressures. ... In physical chemistry and materials science, a phase diagram is a type of graph used to show the equilibrium conditions between the thermodynamically-distinct phases. ... Metastability is the ability of a non-equilibrium state to persist for a some period of time. ... Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... A regular hexagon A hexagon is a polygon with six edges and six vertices. ... An aromatic hydrocarbon (abbreviated as AH), or arene is a hydrocarbon, the molecular structure of which incorporates one or more planar sets of six carbon atoms that are connected by delocalised electrons numbering the same as if they consisted of alternating single and double covalent bonds. ... The n-sided trapezohedron or deltohedron is the dual polyhedron of a regular n-sided antiprism. ... The degree Celsius (°C) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ...

Because of the delocalization of the pi-cloud, graphite conducts electricity. The material is soft and the sheets, frequently separated by other atoms, are held together only by van der Waals forces, so easily slip past one another. Electricity is a general term applied to phenomena involving a fundamental property of matter called an electric charge // Related concepts Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... In chemistry, the term Van der Waals force originally referred to all forms of intermolecular forces; however, in modern usage it tends to refer to intermolecular forces that deal with forces due to the polarization of molecules. ...

At very high pressures carbon forms an allotrope called diamond, in which each atom is bonded to four others. Diamond has the same cubic structure as silicon and germanium and, thanks to the strength of the carbon-carbon bonds, is together with the isoelectronic boron nitride (BN) the hardest substance in terms of resistance to scratching. The transition to graphite at room temperature is so slow as to be unnoticeable. Under some conditions, carbon crystallizes as Lonsdaleite, a form similar to diamond but hexagonal. Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance dark gray, bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ... General Name, Symbol, Number germanium, Ge, 32 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 4, p Appearance grayish white Atomic mass 72. ... A chemical bond is the phenomenon of atoms being held together in molecules, crystals or in solid metal. ... Two or more molecular entities (atoms, molecules, ions) are described as isoelectronic if they have the same number of valence electrons and the same structure (number and connectivity of atoms), but may differ in the elements involved. ... Boron nitride is a binary chemical compound, consisting of equal proportions of boron and nitrogen, with formula BN. Structurally, it is isoelectronic to carbon and takes on similar physical forms: a hexagonal, graphite-like one, and a cubic, diamond-like one. ... Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal polymorph of the carbon allotrope diamond, believed to form when meteoric graphite falls to Earth. ...

Fullerenes have a graphite-like structure, but instead of purely hexagonal packing, also contain pentagons (or possibly heptagons) of carbon atoms, which bend the sheet into spheres, ellipses or cylinders. The properties of fullerenes (also called "buckyballs" and "buckytubes") have not yet been fully analyzed. All the names of fullerenes are after Buckminster Fuller, developer of the geodesic dome, which mimics the structure of "buckyballs". Buckminsterfullerene (C60) Fullerenes are molecules composed entirely of carbon, taking the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ... In the U.S. postage stamp commemorating Buckminster Fuller and his contributions to architecture and science, some of his inventions are visible. ... In mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a straight line to curved spaces. Definition of geodesic depends on the type of curved space. If the space cares natural metric then geodesics are defined to be (locally) the shortest path between points on manifolds. ... St Peters Basilica, Rome A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. ... Buckminsterfullerene (C60) Fullerenes are molecules composed entirely of carbon, taking the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. ...

A nanofoam allotrope has been discovered which is ferromagnetic. Ferromagnetism is a phenomenon by which a material can exhibit a spontaneous magnetization, and is one of the strongest forms of magnetism. ...

Carbon allotropes include:

• Amorphous carbon
• Carbon nanofoam (discovered in 1997)
• Carbon nanotube
• Diamond
• Fullerene
• Graphite
• Lonsdaleite
• Aggregated diamond nanorods (synthesised in 2005)

The system of carbon allotropes spans a range of extremes. Amorphous carbon is the name used for carbon that does not have any crystalline structure. ... Carbon nanofoam is an allotrope of carbon discovered in 1997 by Andrei V. Rode and co-workers at the Australian National University in Canberra. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ... Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Fullerene C540 The Fullerenes are a recently discovered allotrope of carbon (the best known being diamond and graphite). ... Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal polymorph of the carbon allotrope diamond, believed to form when meteoric graphite falls to Earth. ... Aggregated diamond nanorods, or ADNRs, are an allotrope of carbon believed to be the least compressible material known to man, as measured by its isothermal bulk modulus; aggregated diamond nanorods have a modulus of 491 gigapascals (GPa), while conventional diamond has a modulus of 442 GPa. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Between diamond and graphite:

• Graphite is soft and is used in pencils
• Diamond is the hardest mineral known to man (although aggregated diamond nanorods are now believed to be even harder), but graphite is one of the softest.
• Diamond is the ultimate abrasive, but graphite is a very good lubricant.
• Diamond is an excellent electrical insulator, but graphite is a conductor of electricity.
• Diamond is usually transparent, but graphite is opaque.
• Diamond crystallizes in the cubic system but graphite crystallizes in the hexagonal system.

Between amorphous carbon and nanotubes: In crystallography, the cubic crystal system (or isometric crystal system) is the most symmetric of the 7 crystal systems. ... In crystallography, the hexagonal crystal system is one of the 7 lattice point groups. ...

• Amorphous carbon is among the easiest materials to synthesize, but carbon nanotubes are extremely expensive to make.
• Amorphous carbon is completely isotropic, but carbon nanotubes are among the most anisotropic materials ever produced.

Isotropic means independent of direction. Isotropic radiation has the same intensity regardless of the direction of measurement, and an isotropic field exerts the same action regardless of how the test particle is oriented. ...

Occurrence

There are nearly ten million carbon compounds known to science. Many thousands of these are vital to life processes. They are also many organic-based reactions of economic importance. Carbon is abundant in the sun, stars, comets, and in the atmospheres of most planets. Some meteorites contain microscopic diamonds that were formed when the solar system was still a protoplanetary disk. In combination with other elements, carbon is found the earth's atmosphere and dissolved in all water bodies. With smaller amounts of calcium, magnesium, and iron, it is a major component of very large masses carbonate rock (limestone, dolomite, marble etc.). When combined with hydrogen, carbon forms coal, petroleum, and natural gas which are called hydrocarbons. // What is science? There are various understandings of the word science. According to empiricism, scientific theories are objective, empirically testable, and predictive — they predict empirical results that can be checked and possibly contradicted. ... The Sun (or Sol) is the star at the center of our Solar system. ... The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ... Comet Hale-Bopp A comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail — both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation upon the comets nucleus, which itself is a minor planet... Atmosphere is the general name for a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass. ... A planet is generally considered to be a relatively large mass of accreted matter in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... A meteorite is a small extraterrestrial body that reaches the Earths surface. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises our Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... A protoplanetary disc (also protoplanetary disk, proplyd) is an accretion disc surrounding a T Tauri star. ... General Name, Symbol, Number calcium, Ca, 20 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 40. ... General Name, Symbol, Number magnesium, Mg, 12 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 24. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Carbonate is an anion with a charge of -2 and an empirical formula of CO32-. For an aqueous solution, carbonate exists in three forms. ... Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Dolomite crystals from Touissite, Morocco Dolomite is the name of both a carbonate rock and a mineral (formula: CaMg(CO3)2) consisting of a calcium magnesium carbonate found in crystals. ... Marble This page is about the metamorphic rock. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Natural gas (commonly refered to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Hydrocarbons are refined at oil refineries and chemical plants In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ...

Graphite is found in large quantities in New York and Texas, the United States; Russia; Mexico; Greenland and India. State nickname: The Empire State Official languages English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13. ... ...

Natural diamonds occur in the mineral kimberlite found in ancient volcanic "necks," or "pipes". Most diamond deposits are in Africa, notably in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, the Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone. There are also deposits in Arkansas, Canada, the Russian Arctic, Brazil and in Northern and Western Australia. Hewn kimberlite core sample from the James Bay Lowlands region of Northern Ontario, Canada. ... Eruption redirects here. ... // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day... State nickname: The Natural State Other U.S. States Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Governor Mike Huckabee (R) Senators Blanche Lincoln (D) Mark Pryor (D) Official language(s) English Area 137,732 km² (29th)  - Land 134,856 km²  - Water 2,876 km² (2. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole. ...

Organic compounds

Main article: organic chemistry

The most prominent oxide of carbon is carbon dioxide, CO₂. This is a minor component of the Earth's atmosphere, produced and used by living things, and a common volatile elsewhere. In water it forms trace amounts of methanoic acid, HCO₂H, but as most compounds with multiple single-bonded oxygens on a single carbon it is unstable. Through this intermediate, though, resonance-stabilized carbonate ions are produced. Some important minerals are carbonates, notably calcite. Carbon disulfide, CS₂, is similar. Organic chemistry is the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds that by definition contain carbon. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Earths atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... Water has the chemical formula H2O, meaning that one molecule of water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. ... Formic acid (systematically called methanoic acid) is the simplest carboxylic acid. ... Carbonate is an anion with a charge of -2 and an empirical formula of CO32-. For an aqueous solution, carbonate exists in three forms. ... An ion is an atom or group of atoms with a net electric charge. ... Calcite from Brushy Creek Mine, Missouri, USA. The carbonate mineral calcite is a calcium carbonate corresponding to the formula CaCO3 and is one of the most widely distributed minerals on the Earths surface. ... Carbon disulfide (CS2) is a colorless liquid with a pleasant odor that is like the smell of chloroform. ...

The other oxides are carbon monoxide, CO, and the uncommon carbon suboxide, C₃O₂. Carbon monoxide is formed by incomplete combustion, and is a colorless, odorless gas. The molecules each contain a triple bond and are fairly polar, resulting in a tendency to bind permanently to haemoglobin molecules, so that the gas is highly poisonous. Cyanide, CN^-, has a similar structure and behaves a lot like a halide ion; the nitride cyanogen, (CN)₂, is related. Carbon monoxide, chemical formula CO, is a colourless, odourless, flammable and highly toxic gas. ... A commonly-used example of a polar compound is water (H2O). ... 3-dimensional structure of hemoglobin Hemoglobin or haemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red cells of the blood in mammals and other animals. ... A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group C≡N, with the carbon atom triple-bonded to the nitrogen atom. ... A halide is a binary compound, of which one part is a halogen atom and the other part is an element or radical that is less electronegative than the halogen, to make a fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, or astatide compound. ... Cyanogen is a chemical compound (CN)2. ...

With reactive metals, such as tungsten, carbon forms either carbides, C^-, or acetylides, C₂^2- to form alloys with very high melting points. These anions are also associated with methane and acetylene, both very weak acids. All in all, with an electronegativity of 2.5, carbon prefers to form covalent bonds. A few carbides are covalent lattices, like carborundum, SiC, which resembles diamond. Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... R-phrases S-phrases , , , Flash point −188 °C Autoignition temperature 537 °C Explosive limits 5–15% Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... The chemical compound acetylene, also known under IUPAC nomenclature (see IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry) as ethyne, was discovered in 1836 by Edmund Davy, in England. ... In databases, ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. ... Covalently bonded hydrogen and carbon in a molecule of methane. ... Silicon carbide (SiC) or moissanite is a ceramic compound of silicon and carbon. ... Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ...

Carbon chains

Carbon has the ability to form long chains with interconnecting C-C bonds. This property is called Catenation. Carbon-Carbon bonds are fairly strong, and abnormaly stable. This property is important as it allows carbon to form a huge number of compounds; if fact, there are more known carbon-containing compounds than all the other compounds of the chemical elements combined! Catenation is a special property of carbon (and also some other elements like silicon, germanium etc. ...

The simplest form of an organic molecule is the hydrocarbon - a large family of organic molecules that, by definition, are composed of hydrogen atoms bonded to a chain of carbon atoms. Chain length, side chains and functional groups all affect the properties of organic molecules. Hydrocarbons are refined at oil refineries and chemical plants In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ... An organic compound is any of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon, with exception of carbides, carbonates and carbon oxides. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... In ecology functional groups are collections of organisms based on morphological, physiological, behavioral, biochemical, or environmental responses or on trophic criteria. ...

Carbon cycle

Main article: carbon cycle

Under terrestrial conditions, conversion of one isotope to another is very rare. Therefore, for practical purposes, the amount of carbon on Earth is constant. Thus processes that use carbon must obtain it from somewhere, and dispose of it somewhere. The paths that carbon follows in the environment are called the carbon cycle. For example, plants draw carbon dioxide out of the environments and use it to build biomass. Some of this biomass is eaten by animals, where some of it is exhaled as carbon dioxide. The carbon cycle is considerably more complicated than this short loop; for example, some carbon dioxide is dissolved in the oceans; dead plant or animal matter may become sedimentary rock, and so forth. The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Earth. ...

Isotopes

Carbon has two stable, naturally-occurring isotopes: carbon-12, or ¹²C, (98.89%) and carbon-13, or ¹³C, (1.11%), and one unstable, naturally-occurring, radioisotope; carbon-14 or ¹⁴C. There are 15 known isotopes of carbon and the shortest-lived of these is ⁸C which decays through proton emission and alpha decay. It has a half-life of 1.98739x10^-21 s. Isotopes are forms of an element whose nuclei have the same atomic number–-the number of protons in the nucleus--but different atomic masses because they contain different numbers of neutrons. ... Carbon 12 is a stable isotope of the element carbon. ... Carbon-13 is a stable isotope of carbon. ... A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus. ... Carbon-14 is the radioactive isotope of carbon discovered February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. ... Proton emission (also known as proton radioactivity) is a type of radioactive decay in which a proton is ejected from a nucleus. ... Alpha decay is a form of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus ejects an alpha particle and transforms into a nucleus with mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less. ... This article is about the unit of time. ...

In 1961 the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry adopted the isotope carbon-12 as the basis for atomic weights. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... IUPAC logo The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to the advancement of chemistry. ... Carbon 12 is a stable isotope of the element carbon. ... ...

Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 y and has been used extensively for radiocarbon dating carbonaceous materials. Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ... A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to ca 60,000 years. ...

Precautions

Carbon is relatively safe. Inhalation of fine soot in large quantities can be dangerous. Carbon may catch fire at very high temperatures and burn vigorously (as in the Windscale fire). Soot, also called lampblack, Pigment Black 7, or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of... On October 10, 1957, the graphite core of a British nuclear reactor at Windscale, Cumbria, caught fire releasing substantial amounts of radioactive contamination into the surrounding area. ...

There are a tremendous number of carbon compounds; some are lethally poisonous (cyanide, CN^-), and some are essential to life (dextrose). A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group C≡N, with the carbon atom triple-bonded to the nitrogen atom. ... A space-filling model of glucose Glucose, a simple monosaccharide sugar, is one of the most important carbohydrates and is used as a source of energy in animals and plants. ...

References

• On Graphite Transformations at High Temperature and Pressure Induced by Absorption of the LHC Beam, J.M. Zazula, 1997
• WebElements.com and EnvironmentalChemistry.com per the guidelines at Wikipedia's WikiProject Elements

See also

• Organic chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry of carbon
• Allotropes of carbon
• Diamond
  • Material properties of diamond
• Carbon nanotube

Organic chemistry is the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds that by definition contain carbon. ... There is a rich variety of carbon chemistry that does not fall within the realm of organic chemistry and is thus called inorganic carbon chemistry. ... The allotropes of carbon are the different molecular configurations (allotropes) that pure carbon can take. ... Diamond is a Featured Article A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... This article addresses the material properties of diamond. ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Carbon

Look up Carbon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• Los Alamos National Laboratory – Carbon
• WebElements.com – Carbon
• It's Elemental – Carbon
• – Carbon Fullerene and other Allotropes models by Vincent Herr
• Extensive Carbon page at asu.edu
• Electrochemical uses of carbon
• Computational Chemistry Wiki

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary logo Wiktionary is a sister project to Wikipedia intended to be a free wiki dictionary (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ...