Carbon

Carbon is found in many different compounds. It is in the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the cosmetics you use, and the gasoline that fuels your car. Carbon is a special element because it plays a dominant role in the chemistry of life. Carbon makes up 0.03% of earth’s crust, yet without it, life would be impossible. Although the discoverer and location of the discovery is unknown, carbon has dated back to the ancients. Carbon has an atomic number of 6 and a mass of 12. It is located in group fourteen and period two, and is a nonmetal. Carbon’s name can be translated into eleven languages. Carbon has 13 known isotopes that have from 2-14 neutrons in the nucleus and mass numbers from 8-20. Carbon has a hexagonal crystal structure, and an electron configuration of 1s 2s p . Carbon has a Latin origin of “Carbo”. Carbon can be made by burning organic compounds with insufficient oxygen.
The element carbon has four electrons in its outer shell. Since the outer shell can hold eight electrons, each carbon atom can share electrons with up to four different atoms. Carbon can combine with itself as well as other elements. This allows carbon to form many different compounds of varying shape and size.

Graphite, one of the softest materials known, is a form of carbon that is mainly used as a lubricant. Although it does occur naturally, most graphite is treated with petroleum coke, a black tar residue remaining after the refinement of crude oil, in an oxygen-free oven. Naturally occurring graphite occurs in two forms, alpha and beta. All artificially produced graphite is of the alpha form. In addition to its use as a lubricant, graphite, in a form that is known as coke, is used in large amounts in the production of steel. Coke is formed by heating soft coal in an oven without allowing oxygen to mix with it. Although it is most commonly called lead, the material used in pencils is actually graphite.

In conclusion, carbon has many positive attributes. So much is known about the element, such as its properties and the eighteen million compounds, that the advantages the element gives us are endless. The element has already advanced our society in an immeasurable way, and there is no doubt that it will only better our society in the future. Because little is known about the discovery of carbon, it is amazing how much is known about the element. The amount of uses and the amount of the compounds are end