Introduction Carbon is an amazing element its properties ranging from hard to soft light to dark clear to opaque When the carbon atoms line up to form a diamond carbon carbon is one of the hardest substances in the known world Diamond will scratch anything But if those carbon atoms are arranged in a different way the carbon becomes graphite a soft substance that is used in pencils Carbon can be colorless when it is diamond and black in color when it is graphite Graphite conducts electricity well whereas diamond is a good insulator meaning that it doesn’t Carbon or C as it is known by its chemical symbol is an element Elements are those basic substances think of them like building blocks that are made from only one type of atom So carbon is made from carbon atoms An element cannot be chemically broken down into a simpler substance When two or more different elements are chemically bonded together they become a compound 4
IntroductIon 5 Carbon comes in a variety of shapes and forms such as anthracite shungite graphite coal and jet lignite Carbon is the sixth element in the periodic table situated between boron and nitrogen and is the fourth most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen helium and oxygen For a long while scientists were aware of only three naturally
6 cArBon occurring states of carbon diamond graphite and amorphous But in recent decades scientists have discovered other forms of carbon buckminsterfullerene nicknamed buckyballs nanotubes nanotubes and graphene Q-carbon discovered in 2015 glows when exposed to low levels of energy and may have a hardness to rival diamonds The diamond form of carbon is used in jewelry but also to make tools for cutting and polishing Graphite is the soft naturally occurring occurring substance we know better as pencil lead but it can also be used as a dry lubricant Unlike diamond where atoms are arranged in hard frameworks graphite atoms are arranged in thin sheets so they fall apart easily giving it a slippery feel Amorphous carbon has no crystalline structure and is useful in making inks paints and rubber rubber items Carbon compounds form the basis of all known life on Earth and carbon is even present in our own bodies Every single organic molecule of the human body contains carbon Through the food we eat and the air we breathe carbon finds its way into our bodies When we exhale carbon is expelled from our bodies in the form of carbon dioxide which plants absorb as part of their own carbon cycle Humans are carbon-based life-forms however science fiction often explores the concept of silicon-based extraterrestrial life forms given silicon’s similarities to carbon The universe may be
IntroductIon 7 stranger than we know but scientists have found carbon in the sun stars and comets along with the atmospheres of most discovered planets Carbon is everywhere Teaming up with other elements carbon forms more compounds than any other element From jewelry to fuels to plastics to pencils to tools to printer inks carbon is an essential part of our everyday lives This book tells the story of carbon what it is and how it works
