What Is Carbon?

Carbon, chemically denoted as C, is a non metallic element which is found in abundance on the Earth. It comes about in several inorganic, and all compounds that are organic in nature. It subsists freely in the form of diamond and graphite, and as a part of petroleum and coal, as well as limestone. Carbon can self bond to a high degree to make numerous molecules that are vital chemically and biologically, as well as for commercial purposes. The most economically important use of carbon is when it is in the state of hydrocarbons, mostly in fossil fuels.

The atomic number of Carbon is six and its weight 12.011. Carbon is a very important element and a constituent of all existing beings, and there would be no life without it.

Carbon is important to all forms of life. It makes up less than 1 per cent of all matter, but everything that lives or has lived contains this element. The bodies of all living things are made up of compounds containing Carbon, and where it is found in any quantity in the earth, life has probably existed.

Plants get carbon from the carbon dioxide gas of the air and use it in building, up their roots, stems, and leaves. Animals gel it for food from plants. At the same time, carbon dioxide is being returned to the air by animals when they breathe, and by plants when they decay.

Of all the forms of carbon, the best known, and perhaps the most valuable to man, is coal. Coal is about four-fifths carbon, the rest being hydrogen and other elements. The attraction between carbon and oxygen is almost like that between a magnet and iron.
This is one of the reasons why coal is so valuable. When coal is put into fire, its elements, particularly its carbon, burn, or combine with the oxygen in the air. This burning produces heat energy, which is used by man in many ways.
Carbon is found in forms that vary a great deal. Two of its most different forms are graphite and diamonds. Graphite is soft and slippery. H makes an excellent lubricant for machinery. When it is mixed with clay and hardened enough, it is used as the "lead" in lead pencils. Diamonds are the hardest substance known.
Carbon atoms can attach themselves lo each other and to the atoms of other elements. They combine in many different ways to form many carbon compounds. One of the simplest ones is carbon dioxide, which is given off into the atmosphere when carbon burns tr» oxygen. Carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, forms when carbon burns where there is not enough oxygen.
Carbon does not combine easily with other elements or compounds. However, it does react freely with them at high temperatures.