12 Interesting Facts about Carbon: Non Metal Element Atomic Number 6

1 The carbon atom is able to bond with four other atoms, creating 20 million different possible compounds. The most familiar are: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, chloroform, methane, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid and many others. In fact, carbon is invaluable for the building blocks of life.

2 Carbon is found in the clothes that you wear, the food that you eat, the home that you live in, the pencils that you write with, the fuel that propels your car, the air that you breathe and every cell of your body. Life would on earth could not exist without carbon.

Types of Carbon Materials

3 Carbon takes the form of amorphous graphite, charcoal, coal and diamonds. The reason for this is that the carbon atoms can be arranged in different ways – known as ‘allotropes’. In graphite - such as that used in pencils, the atoms are arranged in sheets. In diamond, the atoms are arranged in a rigid lattice (created by heat and pressure). Oddly, carbon can be found in one of the softest and the hardest natural elemental solids (graphite and diamond).

4 Carbon is added to a multitude of man-made materials, including steel, plastics, rubber, carbon fiber, Lycra, linen, glass and cotton. Its charcoal form was even used in early gunpowder.

Carbon Nanotubes in Fullerene

5 A new type of carbon has been discovered, known as fullerene. The carbon atoms are arranged in nanotubes – (small cylinders) or buckyballs (spheres). Fullerene is hundreds of times stronger than steel and has caused much interest with nanotechnologists.

Carbon 14 Diminishes in Dead Matter

6 Carbon Statistics

Atomic number: 6
Atomic weight: 12.0107

State: non metallic solid; clear (diamond) or black (graphite) forms

Category: non metal

Melting point: vaporizes before it melts

Sublimation point: 3,642°C (6,588°F)

Carbon Dioxide Cycle and Photosynthesis

7 The carbon cycle describes how carbon is absorbed in plants from carbon dioxide through photosynthesis before being returned to the atmosphere during decay. In effect, the carbon atom is being transformed into different states from gas (in carbon dioxide) to a solid compound (in the plant cells).

8 Carbon dioxide traps heat from the sun like a greenhouse, hence the ‘greenhouse effect.’ A contributing factor to the increased amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels from oil and coal.

9 Carbon is the fifteenth most abundant element that can be found in the earth’s crust but is the fourth most abundant in the universe (after hydrogen, helium and oxygen) but is the second most abundant element found in humans (after oxygen). Without carbon, life could not exist on earth.

Graphite Pencils and Inks

Carbon Symbol

10 When animal bones are burned without sufficient oxygen the carbon leaves a sooty deposit that is used in paints, inks and pencils. The pigments are known by various names depending on how it is treated, which include lamp black, ivory black or Mars black.

11 Radiocarbon dating is possible thanks to an isotope known as carbon 14. It takes over 5000 years for it to decay into nitrogen but does so consistently. Because the amount of carbon in living things and the environment remains constant, scientists can calculate the age of dead organic matter by how much carbon 14 has diminished within the cells.

12 Charcoal can be taken in pill form to bond with toxins in the body such as heavy metals, poisons or certain narcotics for removal. It can also be taken to treat flatulence and reduce odors.