Table Of Elements

All living things contain carbon. The human body is about 18% carbon by weight. Carbon is the sixth element in the Periodic Table of Elements. Its atomic number is 6, its atomic symbol is C, and its atomic weight is 12.011. Carbon has a melting point of 3,555 C and the boiling point of Carbon is 4,827 C. The word carbon comes from the Latin word carbo, which means coal, charcoal, or ember. It is abundant in compounds and has many uses. No one really knows who discovered carbon because it has been here since creation. It is abundant in the sun ,the stars, comets, and atmospheres of most planets. Carbon was first recognized as an element in the seven-teenth century by Robert Boyle.

      Carbon exists in three main forms. They are diamond, graphite, and carbon black or amorphous carbon. Pure diamond is the hardest substance know to man that naturally occurs. Dimonnds are very valuable, beautiful and used in jewelry. Also because of their hardness, they are used for cutting, grinding, and drilling. It is also a very bad conductor of electricity. Then, graphite is a soft and slippery solid that does conduct electricity. Graphite makes a very good lubricant and is also used in paints. Another use of graphite is when it is mixed with clay to become pencil lead. Amorphous carbon forms include charcoal, lampblack, coal, and coke. Over 1,000,000 carbon compounds have been described in chemical literature, and chemists synthesizes many new ones each year. Because carbon compounds are so numerous, complex, and important, their study constitutes for a specialized field of chemistry called organic chemistry. Also carbon forms compounds that make up about eight-teen percent of all living things.

      In the earth's atmosphere, carbon exists as carbon dioxide. It amounts of about 0.03 percent by volume, and dissolves in all natural waters. Carbon also comes in form of carbonates, which are found in the earths crust. These forms are found in rocks such as marble, limestone, and chalk.

      Carbon is very unreactive at ordinary or room temperatures. Also it is difficult to oxidize. It does not react with acids or alkalies. Carbon does combine with sulfiir vapor at extremely high temperatures to form carbon disulfide. It also combines, silicon and certain metals and forms carbides. Then of course, when it is combined with oxygen it forms oxides, such as carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

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